A New Perspective
by alliwanted28
Summary: Summary: AU, Bo Dennis is a detective who prefers to work alone. What happens when a certain blonde shows up and starts turning her world upside down? Then there's Kenzi…gotta have some Kenzi.
1. Chapter 1: New Partner?

A/N: So I got this idea from Episode 3x09 of Lost Girl. That was probably the only good thing that came out of the 'Yawning', Bo and Lauren in Uniforms. Been playing around with the idea of what it would be like if Lauren and Bo were partners. As much as I love the Fae aspect of the show, this story is all human through and through. Anyway, first ever Fanfic and I hope y'all will enjoy it. Reviews of any kind are more than welcome.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners.

Chapter 1: New Partner?

Whiskey: Liquid gold within a glass. Burns like a bitch on the way down yet somehow manages to warm my insides. Swirling the contents around one last time I empty the glass in one quick gulp. Signaling the bartender for another.

"You know, I'm all for drinking till the sun comes up and my sexy ass is passed out on the couch, but this is just ridiculous Bo."

I groan inwardly.

"Kenzi, I love you and all, but we've had this conversation before. I'm fine and there's no need for you to go all 'Mother goose' on my ass every time you find me at the bar." I say rubbing my temples trying to rid my impending headache.

"Yeah, but almost every night? Really?" her eyebrow arches up quizzically. "Ever considered that _**maybe **_I'm concerned?"

Sighing, I finally turn to face her. Exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally, she can see just how much things have affected me.

"It hurts Kenzi. Why does it hurt so much?" holding back tears, I shake my head and try to rid _him_ from my thoughts. "This is the only way I know how to block it out."

"Drinking till you black out? What happened to the Bo-bo that was all for fighting for what she believed in huh? The Bo who never took 'No' for an answer _especially_ when it came to lurrrve, hmm?"

If I wasn't sitting more than an arms length from her, she would have grabbed me by the shoulders and given me a good shake. Fuck knows I need it.

"I'm tired of fighting Kenz. I'm just…tired." I sigh, letting out the breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

Staring down again at my untouched glass of whiskey, I watch as the ice begins to melt and dilute my drink. Grabbing the glass I quickly down the contents, grabbing my jacket I go to stand and make my way out when I stumble backwards again managing to stay standing only by a firm grip on my forearm steadying me.

"Than-" the word dies from my lips as I'm slightly taken aback by the eyes staring back at me with genuine concern.

"Are you alright?" she says slowly guiding me back to my stool.

"Uhm…yeah…uh, thanks," I say stupidly. Apparently brain function has all but failed me. Kenzi seems to notice this as she chuckles at me only to choke on her drink as she tries to hide it when I glare at her.

"Hmm…if my observation is correct, I'd say you've had a little too much to drink." The blonde says to me with a slightly amused look on her face.

"Yeah no shit Sherlock." Kenzi mumbles.

"Kenzi?!" I spit out.

"What? Just sayin'…" she says with a slight shrug as she takes a sip of her drink with a knowing grin on her face.

Blushing, I breathe out a quick 'Sorry'.

"She's right. Stating the obvious much?" the blonde says to me giving me a small lopsided grin. As I take in the site in front of me, I give her a once over. Donned in a brown leather jacket, white 'V-Neck' top, blue skinny jeans and brown high heeled boots with her blonde hair falling loosely into curls down her back, I can't help but think about how good she looks, especially in those jeans. Is it possible for a persons insides to melt? Because that's exactly what they're doing right now. Quickly recovering, I stretch out my hand,

"I'm Bo, and little miss thing here is Kenzi,' I say, nodding towards Kenzi who raises her glass to acknowledge the other woman.

"Lauren," the blonde says shaking my hand. Her hand is warm and her grip is firm. "Nice to meet you both."

"Likewise," I say. "Are you new around here? I don't recall seeing you here before." I ask. All thoughts about leaving gone out the window.

"Yes, I just moved here two days ago. Transferred here from Greenwich." Lauren says.

"Oh? What do you do?" I ask her.

_Why am I even interested? _I ask myself inwardly.

"I'm a-," her sentence is cut short by the ringing of a phone. Pulling a phone out from her back pocket she answers it giving me an apologetic look.

"Hello?"

Pause.

"WHAT?! What do you _mean _it's not working?"

Sigh.

"Fine. I'll be right over. Dammit Mike, I told you not to touch anything!" Quickly ending the call Lauren looks back at me ready to say something but I interrupt her.

"Go. Whatever it is, it sounded important." I say smiling at her.

"I'll ah…see you around…Bo." Lauren says to me. "Uhm…bye Kenzi."

"Yup," is Kenzi's intelligible reply as Lauren makes her way quickly out of the bar.

"Well, someone sure turned your head tonight didn't they?" Kenzi says to me as I turn to face her.

Putting on my jacket, I stand again. Slowly this time making sure the room isn't spinning before I take another step.

"Time to go home Kenz. I'm suddenly no longer in the mood to drink."

Downing the rest of her drink, the tiny woman jumps out of her seat landing perfectly on two high-heeled stiletto booted feet. Shaking my head in amusement, it never ceases to amaze me how much alcohol can be consumed in such a small body. Linking our arms, we make our way out of the bar. This walk home should give me a chance to sober up as well as make sense of what just transpired tonight.

Groaning I slowly turn over onto my stomach, opening my eyes and quickly closing them as the sun hits me directly in the face. I can't believe I forgot to close my curtains last night. Slowly opening one eye, I take a quick look at the clock on my bedside table.

"SHIT!" I yell, throwing off my bed sheets, I make a quick dash to my bathroom. Taking a quick shower and changing into my work clothes, I add on a pair of glasses to complete my look. The shower and walk last night may have worked a little, but this hangover wasn't going anywhere, anytime soon either.

'_I can't believe I'm going to be late for work…again!" _sighing, I take another quick glance towards my mirror.

'_This is ALL your fault Dyson, if you hadn't screwed up, I never would have had to resort to this shit."_

Making my way down to the kitchen, I spot Kenzi still in the spot I left her last night. Passed out on the couch. Typical Kenz. As I make my way into the kitchen, my phone rings.

"Dennis," I answer.

"Dennis?! Where the hell ARE you? You were supposed to be here 15 minutes ago!" my boss yells at me through the phone.

"Sorry Chief, I'm on my way. I uh…slept in."

"Not good enough Dennis, your new partner arrived here half an hour ago. Get your ass to work! Now!"

Taking another quick glance at Kenzi, I make my way out of the door.

I'd forgotten I was assigned a new partner today. Chief gave me no details whatsoever. No name, age, gender or anything. To say that I was the hardest person to work with in my division was an understatement. Everyone knew that I had partner issues. This was my fourth partner in the last two years. They were always too slow or not good enough. I preferred working on my own. I was a detective. A damn good one at that. I hated the idea of having to rely on other people. If I wanted something done right, I wanted it done my way.

"Rough night Detective?" Jason, a rookie officer asks me as I make my way to the Chiefs office.

"You have no idea." I say.

Knocking on the door, I hear a muffled 'Come in' from the other side.

"Good afternoon Detective, nice of you to finally join us."

Patrick "Trick" McCorrigan a.k.a Chief, may be a hard ass, but he's secretly a big ol' softy on the inside.

As I entered the office, Trick was in the process of handing over a manila folder to someone sitting across from him. Quickly taking the folder from his outstretched arm, I stop dead in my tracks when that 'someone' finally turns around.

_Holy shit!_

"Sit." Chief says to me even though I'm standing there with my mouth slightly open and my eyes still glued to the woman in front of me.

"Dennis, this is your new partner. Detective Lauren Lewis."


	2. Chapter 2: It's just a spark

**A/N:** Thank you SO much for the wonderful reviews guys! It means a lot. Here's the next chapter up I'll TRY to update as often as possible. Can't make any promises of course (I do sorta have life) BUT I'll try. As you can tell, I don't beta my mess. I may or may not have the patience to re-read said mess. Lol. Any constructive criticism is most definitely welcome! Lord knows I need it and as English isn't my first language, I could do with pointers. I also have a love/hate relationship with tenses ha! So I apologize for any spelling and/or grammatical mistakes. ANYWAY, hope you all enjoy.

Tweet tweet: /alliwanted28

* * *

Chapter 2: It's just a spark, but it's enough.

_Partner? _I ask myself quietly, cringing at the very word.

Realizing my mouth is still open, I snap it closed and make my way over to seat myself next to Lauren. Pulling off my glasses I drop myself heavily into the seat as I nod at Trick.

"We've met." I say as I give her a tight-lipped smile. "Hello again."

"Rough night?" she asks, smiling at me knowingly. Something about her smile makes me want to giggle like a little schoolgirl. I manage to mumble an 'Uhm…yeah,' before turning back to look at the Chief.

"I'd ask, but right now I'm not in the mood for anecdotes Bo so I'm going to cut straight to the chase. Here," handing me an identical folder to the one Lauren was given; I quickly flick through it to find a brief.

"Ben Carlson. Believed to be one of the most dangerous men in the City was spotted last Friday night with a few buddies at a club downtown. A witness told us Carlson and his boys had walked in with this young lady and came back out without her."

Briefly I read: Jenna Livingston. Female. Aged 25.

Turning to the pictures with the victim on it, a cold shiver runs down my spine as I look at how mutilated the young girls body had become. There were a few more pictures showing evidence of strangulation, blunt force trauma and numerous lacerations on her arms and legs. Trick says it looked like they had tied her up, beat and tortured her to death. Flipping through a few more pictures I could see evidence of rope burn on her wrists as well as her ankles.

"Jesus!" I say aloud,

"Her body was later found dumped in a dumpster five blocks from the club." He finishes leaning back in his chair. "I've got both of you working together on this case with Thornwood and Santiago."

"WHAT?! _Why?!" _I ask Trick, jumping quickly out of my chair.

"I want the best on this case and you four are the best. I thought you knew how to differentiate between work and personal matters Detective? If you have a problem with this case I can easily have you replaced and put on desk duty?" Trick asks me giving me a knowing look.

_This news does nothing to soothe my ever-present hangover. _

"So detective, do we have a problem or not?"

Sitting back down I chance a quick glance at Lauren whose been sitting quietly for the last ten minutes. She looks slightly amused and a little shocked.

_Partner? I hate that word. _

"No sir," I say defeated.

If there was one thing I hated, it was being passed up on a big case for desk duty. If I was being honest, the only other thing I hated more than desk duty, it was _him. _There was no way I was going to let this one out of my grasp. Let alone give Dyson the satisfaction.

"That's what I thought." Trick says grinning at me.

"I already had Santiago and Thornwood check out the scene. Since some of us were a little, ah, preoccupied this weekend, I thought I'd let them in on it first. Besides, I had to give Lewis here some time to get settled in first."

_Right. Lauren. Detective Lewis. Detective Lauren Lewis. My partner._

Trick went on to explain to us in vaguely what he wanted from us. Apparently this place was a regular for Carlson. Someone named Vex owned the club. They were believed to be long time friends. Our job was to get in there and find out what we could about their operation. After giving us our briefing, Chief faces me saying,

"I don't want anymore excuses Dennis, either you pull your head up out of your ass and get your shit together or I WILL pass you up. Now, I'd give you more details but you're both intelligent women and you have what you need in there…" he says pointing at the folders we both have, "I'm sure you can both manage. Good day."

* * *

On our way to our desks, neither one of us have said anything to one another. Sitting down at my desk, I look up to find Lauren standing there looking at me. Being the first to break the silence,

"Should I be worried right now?" she asks quietly.

_Direct much?_

If only she knew just how worried she should be. Giving her my best 'Everything's peachy smile' I reply with, "Depends. Think you can handle being stuck with _'Dennis the Menace'_ for a partner?"

'Dennis the Menace' sounded about right. It was the nickname given to me after my third unsuccessful attempt at being partnered up.

"You'll be surprised detective. I like a challenge," Lauren says to me with a wink before moving to her desk.

"How's the hang over?" she asks.

I grimace at the reminder of said hang over.

"Here," she says. Opening the top drawer of her desk, she brings out a bottle of aspirin before walking over to get a glass of water. Making her way to my desk, she hands me the glass of water and aspirin. As my fingers brush against hers, my body gives an involuntary shiver. If Lauren noticed, she didn't say anything as she makes her way back to her desk, throwing the bottle of aspirin unceremoniously back into her drawer.

'Thanks." I say giving her a weak smile.

"Anytime, Dennis the Menace."

* * *

Leaning back in my chair and pinching the bridge of my nose I let out a frustrated sigh. It had only been about half an hour, but I felt like shit and my brain didn't want to work today. I couldn't get past the first line of the report. Suddenly I regret spending my weekend with Jack.

_Damn you Dyson! _

"Ahem…"

The sound of someone clearing their throat pulls me out of my train of thought.

_Speak of the devil. _

"What do you want Dyson?" I ask. Looking at him through narrowed eyes, I get this sudden urge to punch that smug little smirk right off his face. Ignoring my question, I watch him as he makes his way towards Lauren's desk. Perching himself on the edge of her desk he extends an arm out to greet her.

"Detective Lewis I presume?" he asks.

_Asshole._

Looking up from the papers she's reading, Lauren gives him a little nod, extending her own arm out to shake his. I know all too well what Dyson's motives are. He was putting on 'The Charm". Seeing this I feel a small hint of jealousy at their exchange. I wasn't sure if it was the thought of Dyson touching Lauren or if it was the fact that Dyson was acting so _friendly_ towards her that triggered it.

_Ugh. I have no right to be jealous. I have no right to be jealous…_

"I'm Dyson. I'll be helping you and Dennis here on this little case. Just thought I'd come over and introduce myself and extend a little welcome to our newest team member." He explains giving her his best (according to Kenzi) 'panty dropper smile'.

"Well thank you, but I'm sure Bo and I will be able to handle our own. We may be working the same case, but we'll do our thing and you do yours. Should we need your help, we'll ask." She replies giving him a sweet little smile before turning back to continue reading.

I feel a small sense of satisfaction at hearing Lauren brush him off. Closing the case file I look up to see Hale making his way over to us.

"Hiya Lauren." He says quickly before clapping Dyson on the back. "Ay yo D! We gotta go man, Malcolm's gonna shit a brick if we're late and you know what he's like when we're late." Stopping in front of my desk, Hale turns to me with his usual goofy grin on his face.

"Heya Bo, how ya' been? Missing you down at the Dal these last few weeks. Getting a little boring without you and Lil' mama hangin' round."

Smiling up at Hale I tell him I've been busy.

_Yeah, busy playing the avoidance game. _

"You guys going to see the victim?" Lauren asks looking up at Hale.

"Yup. Malc says he has some new info."

I'm a little surprised that Lauren already knows where they're going.

_Has she met Malc already?_

"Mind if we come with? We haven't seen the body up close yet so it'd be nice to actually see it. I've caught up on the gist of things so…" turning her attention to me she raises an eyebrow, "Bo?"

"Uh…yeah. Same here." I lie, quickly getting up out of my chair. Glancing over at Dyson I can see a flash of annoyance cross his features before he rights himself. Walking past me he quickly snaps at us to hurry up because we didn't have all day.

"Well ladies, shall we? Musn't keep the man waiting." Hale says turning to Lauren and I. Following behind Lauren, I can't help but admire her from the back.

_Well, she certainly knows how to fill out a pair of jeans that's for sure. Lauren Lewis as my partner? Doesn't sound so bad. Not bad at all._


	3. Chapter 3: We're in this Together

**A/N: **Sorry about the late one. Life interrupted for a bit. I also got a little distracted watching Orphan Black. That show is amazing! Anyway, here's the next chapter. It's a bit wordy so hopefully that should make up for it and that y'all like it. Really loving the reviews guys. You're all amazing! Thank you so much.

* * *

**Chapter 3: We're in this. Together.**

Nothing like a romantic stroll down to the morgue accompanied by your ex-boyfriend. Not to mention the ever-present company of his partner and my _new _partner. To say the tension in the air was thick was an understatement. The ride down the elevator. The walk down the hallway to the morgue. Silence.

_Awwwkwarrrd._

As the four of us enter, I let out a sigh of relief. Looking around I spot Malc bent over the victim examining the body.

"Hiya doc, whatcha got for us?" Hale says breaking the silence.

"You're late." Comes his irritated reply.

_So peachy. Note to self: find Malc a woman and help him get laid._

"Sorry Dr. Branson, Detective's Santiago and Thornwood were held up because of me. I wanted them to wait for Bo and I to finishing going over the case file so we could join them."

Finally standing up from his work, Malc turns to face us, a big smile on his face.

"Oh! Detective Lewis, I didn't know you were coming down here. Didn't think I was going to see you down here again so soon!" Dropping what he's doing and taking off his gloves, he makes his way over to us. Quickly taking Lauren's hand in his, he places a kiss on the back of her hand.

"Erm…thank you and uh, Lauren is fine," she replies taking her hand back and shoving it into her pocket.

_Ugh. Creepy old bastard._

Dr. Malcolm Branson. Our trusty Chief Medical Examiner. Top-notch doctor, number one Creeper. A man in his late fifty's, graying hair with a bit of a beer belly to spare and a beard to match Colonel Sanders, there hasn't been one female officer, detective or otherwise that he hasn't tried to hit on. Yet, he still wonders why he's single.

_Heck, I wouldn't even be surprised if he hit on corpses. _

"And Bo, how are you my dear?" he says turning to me and reaching out for my hand.

"Good Doc, just peachy. What have you got for us?" I say changing the subject, completely ignoring his hand. Giving him a pat on the back, I brush past him to take a look at the body.

"Well, apart from the obvious, I found out that she was under moderate sedation while she was being tortured. I'd forgotten to include that in my report. But I also found this small puncture wound. Does it look familiar to you Detective?"

Bending down to take a closer look I see the familiar puncture wound embedded in the girls neck. The girl was so beaten in the pictures that I'd missed the detail. Subconsciously I bring my hand up to rub the scar on my neck.

"That's not possible. Taft doesn't usually beat up his victims or dump them. Sedation and torture maybe but this…?" I ask gesturing to the body in front of me.

"Copy cat killer? Accomplice? Apprentice?"

"I don't know Hale. But I won't put it past Taft to have people on the outside doing his dirty work."

"You're not working on this case if it's related to Taft."

I look up at Dyson, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Is that an _**order **_Detective?"

"I'm not letting you work on this if it's Taft."

"If I recall Dyson, your concern for me has long since expired since we broke up. You don't own me and you weren't the one that was taken by a psychotic son of a bitch with mommy issues."

The room is silent for a while. All tension has returned ten fold when I feel a warm hand on my shoulder. Turning my head I find Lauren giving me a look that calmed me down instantly.

_How does she do that?_

Righting myself, she gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze before stepping up beside me.

"What does this Taft person have to do with Carlson? I thought Carlson was our suspect?" she asks looking up at Malc.

* * *

_**7 months earlier.**_

_It's dark and cold. I can smell dampness and…rot maybe? I can hear the faint sound of water dripping into a small puddle near by. My body is aching and my head is spinning. I can hear shuffling and a chair being placed somewhere in front of me._

"_Detective Ysabeau Dennis. Or may I call you Bo? What a pleasure it is to finally meet you. Comfy?" _

_A cold shiver runs down my spine at the sound of his voice. I try a quick tug at my hands and I wince a little as the zip ties cut into my skin. Groggily lifting my head in the general direction of the voice I try to say something and cough a bit as the cold air catches in my throat. _

'_How long have I been out?'_

_Again I try to say something. Taking a slow breath in…out._

"_I've been better." I finally manage to reply. It comes out weak but it's something._

_A small chuckle escapes his lips. I hear him stand and more shuffling of feet as I feel him make his way to me. I feel his fingers gently brush against my cheek before they move down to slowly lift my head up while his other hand removes the blindfold from my eyes. I blink rapidly trying to get my eyes to adjust to the light, or lack thereof._

"_You really are a pretty little thing you know. It's a shame I have to kill you soon. Just one little injection and poof! Your little body will start to shut down while I sit in that chair and watch. It's a shame really, I was enjoying our little game of cat and mouse."_

_I want to wipe that smile off his face. Gauge his eyes out. Shove my hand down his throat and rip his vocal chords out. I __**hate**__him. Crazy bastard. _

"_Then __**do **__it!" I barely manage to spit out. _

_Laughing again he lets go of my chin. Facing his back to me and clapping his hands together, he turns back around facing me with a gleam in his eye. He starts to pace around my chair. Keeping my head down I try to regain my balance. I still feel off kilter from the sedation._

"_But where would be the fun in that hmm? You see detective, you're different from the other ones. You're stronger. Willing. Determined to play the game. That's what makes this all the more fun. Haven't you noticed that apart from a little head injury and heavy sedation you're completely unharmed? Not for long of course." _

_Looking up I find him standing by a table picking something up. I can see numerous objects on his table. From what I can make out, one is a scalpel, hammer and an injection. I wonder briefly where the pliers are. My eyes slowly move up to see what it is that he's picked up. It's a syringe. _

"_See, I want to play one final game with you detective. I like to call it 'No pain, no gain'. The objective of the game is to see if you can feel any hint of pain. You'll be sedated of course but only just moderately. You see? I want you to watch as I pierce your skin. Bruise your body. Break you bones. Remove things etc etc." _

"_You're a sick bastard is what you are. That's why your mother didn't want you."_

_I quickly find myself with a hand around my neck. Syringe close to my neck and cold eyes burning into mine. _

"_NO! No…my mother was a slut. She deserved what was coming to her. She never gave me a chance. An eye for an eye. That kind of thing. But you? Well…I want yours to be slow."_

_I close my eyes as I start to feel the needle pierce my skin._

* * *

**Present.**

"When Hale and Dyson found me, he was just about to inject me with the final dose. He wasn't expecting them to come early. I walked out with a few broken ribs, cuts and bruises. When he went to inject me, he was shot but his hand slipped and he left me with a lovely souvenir." I finish pointing at the scar left on the right side of my neck from the syringe. It was small, but held so much…pain.

"Had they been seconds later, I would've been another token on his belt."

I turn to face Lauren who's now sitting in one of the chairs near the autopsy table.

"But he's still alive?"

"Yes. Hale shot him enough to wound and disorientate him. We still need him to try and find the remains of several women who are still missing. He's locked up at a heavy-duty penitentiary down town. But he hasn't said anything."

"Okay. But how is Carlson involved?"

"He isn't."

"Is it possible that maybe our victim just happened to be an easy target for whoever it is that's doing Taft's dirty work for him?" Hale says straightening himself from the wall he'd been leaning on. "That maybe Carlson and his buddies only beat her up and dumped her? I mean Doc, you said that she was sedated and tortured. Maybe whoever saw her beaten up found her an easy target decided to finish it off? Practice on her?"

"Well the cuts, broken ribs, strangulation and broken fingers fit Taft's M.O but like you said Hale, it could be an accomplice. This is a little too sloppy for it to be Taft. Good, but not as clean. Come to think of it, it's a good way to cover up and lay blame on someone else."

"Chiefs not gonna be happy about this." Hale says shaking his head and rubbing the back of his neck.

"You guys go ahead and let Trick know. I owe Bo lunch." A little startled I watch as Lauren stands from her chair as she makes her way to the door. As if on queue my stomach gives a growl loud enough for everyone to hear.

_Oh my fucking god! Really? I should've had breakfast this morning._

Without looking back I quickly make my way past Lauren and out the door. She doesn't say anything as she follows me into the elevator, but I can almost feel her grin as she moves to stand behind me patiently waiting for the elevator doors to close.

_Smooth Dennis. Real smooth. _

* * *

"So…uhm…you never told me. When did you meet Hale? Let alone, my personal favourite, Dr. Branson?" Taking a quick bite out of my sandwich, I let out a happy groan, relieved that my stomach has food. "Gawd, I swear Rosie makes the best Turkey sandwiches."

Taking a sip out of my coke and wiping my mouth I glance over at Lauren who's happily nursing a cup of coffee and watching me with an amused look on her face. I blush a little and reach out for my glass of coke taking a long swig to cover it.

"Saturday. I walked in on Trick and Hale finishing up something in Trick's office. Hale offered to show me around a bit and I just happened to be lucky enough to run into Dr. Branson that day."

I snort a little at the thought of the creeper losing his shit and gushing over her at their first meeting.

_Dirty old man. _

"Dr. Branson is very…how do I put this, _friendly_." She says sitting back in the booth, bringing her cup up to her lips.

"Yeah, you get used to it. He stopped any form of chivalry after I threatened to cut his balls off and feed it to his cat. He tries every now and then but he knows the rules."

"Mmm…yum," taking a small sip from her coffee and placing the cup down on the table, her demeanor changes to that of concern. Taking one of my hands into hers, she gives it a comforting squeeze. At that moment I forget to breathe. I'm drawn into her eyes as she looks at me with those intense brown eyes.

_She's…wow._

"Bo, I can't even begin to _imagine_ what you went through, but I want you to know this. I'm here for you. We'll get whomever it is that's helping Taft and make sure that he and Taft stay behind bars forever. We'll do it. Together."

Clearing my throat, I return a gentle squeeze of my hand before letting her hand go and turning back to my sandwich.

"Thank you. But I can't have you get involved with this. It's too dangerous."

"Bo, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, but-"

"No 'ifs' or 'buts' about this Bo. You're my partner. I'm not taking no for an answer. I know what this job involves and I'll probably have the same reaction about this if I was in your shoes. But Bo, there's something about you that makes me want to keep you safe!"

She stops then. Rolling her eyes as she chastises herself.

_Once again…wow._

"What I mean is, I'm here to help. You don't have to do this alone. Besides, I'm not trying to toot my own horn but…I'm pretty good at this you know. I'm quite the catch."

_Hmm…I can play this game too._

"I've noticed." I say to her giving her _**my**_ best 'Panty dropper smile.'

Dropping my voice to a lower octave and trying my best to mimic Malc I grab her hand again,

"Oh! Detective Lewis, I didn't think I was going to see you down here again so soon!" I say dramatically before dropping a quick kiss on the back of her hand while I waggle my eyebrows suggestively at her. I let go of her hand as I burst out into hysterics at the look on her face. Complete and utter shock.

With tears in my eyes I'm startled when I feel something land directly in-between my cleavage. Wiping my eyes I look down to see a piece of bread there. Looking back up at her I watch as she struggles to keep a straight face

"What?" she asks a little too innocently.

"I can't believe you just _**did **_that," I say to her.

"I'd say it was a pretty good shot,' she says finally laughing. "Besides Dennis, you started it."

Shaking my head I laugh along with her. I could get used to this.

* * *

After our lunch, Lauren and I made our way back to the office calling into Trick before gathering the files we needed to catch Lauren up on the Taft case. Hale was right. Trick was definitely not happy. Both Hale and Dyson had been sent home for the day. After getting what we needed, I suggested we head back to my place to go over the files and talk about the case and it's history. That was how Kenzi found us.

"Hola biatch!" Looking up from the case file Lauren and I had been pouring over I see Kenzi making her way into the living room kicking her shoes off to the side.

"Oh! Didn't realize we were having private parties." She says stopping by the end of the sofa to survey what we're doing. Finally looking up from her note taking, I feel Lauren stiffen a little beside me, as she gives Kenz a timid smile and a small wave.

_Were we really sitting that close?_

"Shit! You're the one from the bar last night. Damn Bo, I knew you were quick but I didn't think you were this quick. Just make sure it's not on the couch. I actually like this one." Grabbing the bowl of chips on the coffee table and plopping herself next to me, she reaches for the remote quickly turning on the TV to be greeted by Jungle Jeeves.

"Sweet!"

Pinching her on the side, I tell her what we were doing.

"Kenz. There's no 'It' going on and we weren't going to do anything. Well…anything like, 'IT'. Lauren here is my new partner." I say turning to Lauren and giving her an apologetic smile.

"Partner? Like, partner partner?" she asks. Turning to Lauren,

"Err…how are you still here?"

"Wha-KENZI! What are you doing?"

"Look Bo, we all know your _lurrrrve _for partners, but you and I both know you can't keep one for more than two months. Sheesh. Can't a girl ask?"

"NO!"

"Whatevs. What are y'all looking at anyway? Juicy man-candy? Sexy exotic dancers?"

Picking up a picture, Lauren shows her our current victim.

"OH! Horrrf! What the fah?! Gawh Hotpants! I'm eating…hey, that's a Chanel dress. She's got some style I'll give her that."

Giving her an exasperated look I take the photo from the blondes hands and show it to Kenzi.

"You don't know her do you?"

"Nope."

"Well aren't you helpful." I say rolling my eyes at her and putting the picture back onto the table.

"One of a kind Bo. One. Of. A kind." She says to me poking her tongue out at me.

"How do you know the dress is Chanel?" Lauren asks.

"Trust me honey. I know." she replies before turning back to the TV and shoveling chips into her mouth.

I cringe as I watch her. _Every_ time.

"Kenzi here can smell the difference between a Chanel and Channel from the other side of the world. Well, least we know she was rich." I say to Lauren.

"Mmm…either that or very well pampered. Wish I knew what she was doing with a guy like Carlson, let alone how she became Taft's next target." Sighing, she rubs the side of her temples, turning back to face the case files.

"Wait…who?!" Kenzi says dropping the handful of chips she was just about to shove into her mouth.

"Taft. We think he's got an accomplice on the outside. This girl happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. So we thought, until now that you've mentioned she's wearing Chanel." I tell her gesturing once again to the pictures.

"But Taft? Bo the asshole almost _**killed **_you! Oh no…what if he's coming back? We need to get out of here. I have a cousin in Boston who can hook us up with passports and tickets."

"Kenzi! Kenzi, calm down. We're not going to runaway, we're going to solve this so that Taft and his buddy, whoever the fuck he is, never see the light of day again. I'll be fine. _**We'll**_ be fine." I say to her wrapping my arm around her shoulders and bring her closer to me.

"Besides, Taft is still safely behind bars. He's not going anywhere."

Breathing a sigh of relief I feel her relax a little next to me. Breaking the silence, I watch as Lauren stands, stretching and giving a small yawn before turning to us.

"Well, I better go. I'll have another look at these files again tonight before bed. Besides my brother's waiting at home. That's trouble enough. I kind of really like this new apartment."

I stand up as well as I follow her to the door. Just as we reach the door, both our phones go off.

"Dennis,"

"Lewis,"

"What?!" we both say in unison.

"No!"

I hear the faint sound of something dropping on the floor next to me as I stumble backwards, my back hitting the wall behind me. Sliding down slowly until I hit the floor, I see Kenzi crouch in front of me, Lauren on my right.

"Bo-bo, hey chica…what's wrong?" Kenzi asks placing her hands on my shoulders.

"It's Taft. He's…he's escaped."


	4. Chapter 4: Pain is just a simple comp

A/N: Once again thank you soooo much for all the amazing reviews guys. You're all amazing! You don't know how much I appreciate that you take the time to comment let alone read it. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Hope you all like it. I'm hoping to upload the next chapter sooner rather than later.

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Chapter 4: Pain is just a simple compromise.

Fear. One word. Four letters.

How can one man instill such an enormous amount of a four-letter word into one person? Sure, I've been scared before. The first day of school. Free falling. Staring down the barrel of a loaded gun pointed at you. Yes, I've been scared. Fear however, is on an entirely different level. Fear was what I felt the first time Taft had me and it's what I feel now as I sit here in the same position I'd been in after I heard the news that Taft had escaped.

"_Dennis, we've had word that Taft has escaped."_

That was the only sentence I heard from Trick before I dropped my phone.

_Taft. Escaped._

The two words an ongoing mantra in my head.

When I first started on the job as a homicide detective, everyone quickly learned that I didn't like to play by the rules. I was known for being stubborn and impetuous. That's how I worked. As the years went on, others would call me brave or stupid. Most of the time, I don't think, I _**do**_. Bo Dennis afraid of something? That was unheard of. Being afraid was not something most would associate with me. But sitting here on the floor, staring blankly at Kenzi, it was fear that coursed through my veins.

"Bo…what's wrong? You're shaking and you're starting to scare me." Kenzi asks again.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. Letting it out slowly as I try to regain control of my emotions. I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out.

"It's Taft." A voice says to my right. Both Kenzi and I turn our heads. I'd completely forgotten about Lauren. "He's escaped."

I hear a sharp intake of breath from Kenzi but my eyes are transfixed on Lauren's. Her gaze is intense. I can't quite figure out what it means. I can't read her. She's the first to break the eye contact. Grabbing me by the arm she gestures to Kenz to take my other arm. They both help me up and move me to the couch. At this point I still haven't said anything.

"Have you got anything to drink? Something strong preferably."

I can do is nod, fearing what might come out of my mouth.

"I'll get it. Bo here's obvi not gonna move a cheek."

As I hear Kenzi's footsteps make their way up the stairs, I feel Lauren move around to kneel down in front of me. I feel her hands slowly reach out to take mine. My eyes reach her questioning gaze.

"Bo, talk to me."

"I…He…he's escaped." I say stupidly.

_Yeah, no kidding._

Rolling her eyes at me, she gives me a sympathetic smile, giving my hands a gentle squeeze.

"I'm scared." I finally whisper, looking away. I hate this feeling. Feeling like I'm vulnerable.

"Hey…look at me." Lauren says. I feel her hand slowly but tentatively cup my cheek and turn my head to face her. "It's okay to be scared. It's human. Even Dennis the Menace is allowed to get scared sometimes."

I can't help but smile at her use of the nickname.

"I couldn't find any vodka, but I did find tequila…" at the sound of Kenzi's voice we both break apart quickly.

"Err…I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

_Argh! Kenz, you have the worst timing!_

"N-no. I was just about to come and check on you actually." Lauren says, standing again. This time with her hands buried in her back pockets.

"Rrriiight. Uh huh." She says before pouring some tequila in the shot glass that just happened to be sitting on the coffee table.

"Well if you two are done with the fireworks, it's time to drink up Bobalicious. It's the good stuff. One for you…one for me." Handing me the shot, I down it quickly. Closing my eyes tightly as I savour the burn of the liquid as it runs down my throat.

_Guess I really did need that._

"Want one Hotpants?" I hear Kenzi ask already pouring herself another shot before pouring one more and offering it up for Lauren. Shaking her head she mumbles something about driving and not really being in the mood to drink.

"Your loss," Kenz says before shrugging her shoulders and downing the shot.

Our little party is disturbed by the sound of three heavy raps on the door followed by a, "Bo! Kenzi! Open the door!"

It's Dyson.

_Great. Just what I need right now. _

I lean back into the cushions of the sofa as I watch Kenzi make her way to the door. Just as she opens the door, Dyson bursts through eyes searching the kitchen before heading into the living room.

"Where is she?! Where's Bo?"

"Well hello to you too." Kenzi mumbles before following him into the living room. Turning my head in the direction of Dyson's voice I glare at him when he finally spots me.

"What do you want Dyson?" I ask annoyed even though I already know the answer.

"I don't want you leaving your house. We've got two squad cars outside as well as Hale and I taking watch. With Taft on the loose, who knows what the crazy son-of-bitch will do. So in the mean time I want you stay put, where I can keep my eye on you."

"I'm not a child Dyson. I can take care of myself." I reply, my anger quickly rising to the surface.

"Can you? Because the last time you said something like that, you almost got yourself killed!" in a few quick strides he's in front of me. He pulls me flush against his body, running a finger down the scar on my neck. I can't help but shiver a little at our close proximity.

"This, Bo, is _**not**_ what I call taking care of yourself. I won't have you putting yourself at risk. When I see him, I'm going to kill him."

Pushing him away from me, I round on him my temper flaring.

"Don't Dyson. Don't you _**dare**_ try to tell me what I can and can't do. Just because you have some sort of hero complex, doesn't mean you can come in here and tell me that I can't go anywhere." Dropping my hands to my side I clench them as I try to control my breathing. I hear him give out a small growl.

"Your right to be concerned about me was long gone when we broke up. I don't need you fighting my battles and I sure as hell don't need you to be my guard dog!" I watch him as he clenches his jaw. We stand there glaring at each other. The clearing of someone's throat quickly brings us back to reality.

_Lauren._

"I know you mean well Dyson, but I think you should leave. Bo's been through enough tonight. Besides, I don't think Taft will show up tonight. His main priority tonight was to escape. His escape alone is enough to get the attention he's seeking. He likes to play games. For now, all he'll be doing is recuperating and planning."

"Fine." Dyson say's through gritted teeth. I can see tell that this is far from over, but for now he relents. "Just know that I'll know if you have _friends_ over tonight." With that he turns on his heel and is out the door just as quickly as he came in.

I'm not surprised that he knows about my '_friends'._ Three weeks after our break up, I started sleeping with other people. It started out with just one every two weeks, then two and three until it was almost one for every night of the week. Kenzi started calling me a sex demon after that. For someone who wanted to see other people, he sure wasn't letting that rule apply to me.

"Asshole." I spit out harshly before I grab the bottle of tequila on the coffee table and taking a not so gracious gulp from the bottle.

_God that's good._

Lowering the bottle and putting it back on the table I turn to Lauren. "I'm sorry. You didn't need to see that."

"Sorry to state the obvious here Bo-bo but we can't unsee it. Now gimmie, momma needs to get her drink on. There's only so much drama a girl can take." Kenzi says before grabbing the bottle of and dropping dramatically onto the couch and taking a swig out of it. "Damn that shit is good!"

My ears perk up at the sound of Lauren's phone ringing.

"Lewis," there's a long pause as she listens to whomever it is that's on the other side of the phone. "I'm fine Mike, I'm just at a friends house. I'll be there soon, I have a few things to take care of before I come home." Ending the call and popping it back into her back pocket she looks up to find me staring at her. Blushing I quickly look away, taking a calming breath, I turn to face her again.

"Great way to start your first day on the job huh?" I say giving her a weak smile.

"Well, what can I say, it's been an eventful day that's for sure." As quickly as her light sense of humour appears, it quickly disappears to be replaced by concern again. "Are you going to be okay?" she asks moving closer, reaching out to place a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"On that note, I think T and I will continue our love fest in the room. G'night!" Lauren and I both stand there in silence watching Kenzi's retreating back as she makes her way up the stairs to her room. Just before she reaches the first step, she all but gracefully stumbles over one of her many boots lying around. "Ow! Shit! Where'd that come from?!" Righting herself, she turns around, giving us a final salute she makes her way up the stairs.

"And I thought you were the one that needed a drink." Lauren says amusement evident in her voice. "Anyway, I'd better get going. You need to get some rest Bo. I'll call you in the morning to see how you're doing." Grabbing her jacket from the back of the sofa, I follow her for a second time out to the door. Pausing with her hand on the doorknob, she slowly turns to me.

"Bo, we'll get him. I promise. Sweet dreams." With one more smile to spare and a quick goodnight, she's out the door.

* * *

"_We meet again Detective." _

_I shudder at the voice. I can feel the familiar tightness of a blindfold around my eyes. The gag around my mouth tied a little too tightly. I want to scream, but I can't. I struggle at the binds but I know it's pointless._

"_You know no one can hear you from down here. Oh I love a good fighter. Feisty even. Like I said, you always were my favourite."_

_His cold laugh sends another wave of shivers down my spine. I struggle again at the binds. Praying. Hoping that one would come loose. Finally I feel the blindfold being removed. I blink a few times trying to adjust to the light. _

_When my eyes finally adjust I take in the familiar surrounding. I'm back in the same place. This time I'm tied to a four-poster bed. Dressed in nothing but panties and a bra. I feel vulnerable and exposed for all the world to see. _

_What was he going to do to me?_

_I watch Taft as he slowly makes his way to the bed. In his hands he's holding what looks to be a hunting knife. Brown leather handle, serrated from the handle and smoothing out towards the top. _

"_Have you ever been hunting Detective? People do it as a sport. Hunting deer, ducks and rabbits. I love to hunt. The only difference is…I like to hunt more, how do I say this, worthy prey?"_

_I can only watch in vein as he makes his way towards me. When he reaches the edge of the bed, reaching the hand out with the blade, he slowly runs the tip of the blade down my stomach. I flinch._

"_Want to know what my favourite part about catching my prey is?" He asks again, bringing the knife up to my neck. I can feel it push gently against the skin. Enough to let me know it was there but not enough to pierce the skin. This time with his mouth near my ear he whispers, "Flaying." I try to scream out, as I feel the blade start to break the surface of my skin. _

I jerk upright breathing heavily, waking up in a cold pool of sweat. I'm shaking. Somehow in the middle of my dream my sheets had become tangled around my legs taking two of my pillows and landing them on the floor. Looking at the clock on my bedside table it read: 1:56a.m. I'd only been asleep for about two hours. Sighing, I swing my legs to the side of the bed I wince a little as my bare feet come in contact with the cold wooden floor. Standing I make my way over to my window. Peeking through the curtain, I can see two unmarked cars, one parked across the street and the other just two blocks down.

_So much for sleep. Sweet dreams indeed. _

Making my way into the bathroom I rummage through the medicine cabinet finding the painkillers there. Swallowing two of them in quick succession, I grip the edges of the bathroom sink steading myself at the sudden head rush. Reaching up again to close the cabinet I look at myself in the mirror.

_Don't I just look like shit?_

Lightly running my fingers against the scar on my neck, I can't help but think about the dream.

_Get yourself together Dennis. You're stronger than this._

Sighing, I make my way back into my bedroom. Picking up my phone, I'm not surprised to find a text from Dyson.

Dyson: U ok?

Me: Just peachy. Not like a serial killer is on the loose or anything.

D: I still care 'bout u Bo.

Me: U're kidding me rite? It's 2 in the morning Dyson. It's hardly the time.

D: I just wan safe.

Me: Goodbye Dyson.

Locking my phone, I toss it back onto the nightstand, annoyed at Dyson's over protective smothering. _**He**_was the one that broke it off with me. _**He**_ was the one that left to go find himself. _**He **_was the one that threw it away. I was in it for the long haul. It hurt to think about it. _**Him. **_And I hated it.

My thoughts quickly crossed to Lauren. After all of yesterday's events, I never even had time to consider her. From that first meeting, I couldn't deny there was something there. I couldn't help but feel so drawn to her. There was an instant attraction. I didn't know how to describe it but there was something about her that made me want to know more about her. The only problem is I only know her name, where she came from and that she has a brother. From what I did see from observing her, was that she was strong, confident and loyal.

Her insistence to help someone she barely knew. To stand by my side even though she had no idea what she was getting herself into made me feel grateful.

_Maybe Trick was going somewhere with this one. _

Remembering her interaction with Dyson yesterday brought a smile to my face. She could hold her own all right. What really caught me though was her easy going personality and that smile of hers. A smile, which did nothing, but melt my insides. Every time she touched me, it burned right through my clothes and onto my skin leaving this…warmth. Then there were her eyes: brown with gold specs in them. How could someone have such an effect on me? What made her so different from previous partners I've had?

Subconsciously, I knew the answer: I was attracted to Lauren Lewis.

I'm brought out of my train of thought at the sound of my phone vibrating.

_Argh. Doesn't he get the hint?!_

Picking up the phone, I'm surprised to see that it's not Dyson's number on the phone but a blocked one.

"Dennis," I answer.

"Hello Detective, miss me?"


	5. Chapter 5: I bruise easily

**A/N:** Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews! Love it. So I was listening to Natasha Bedingfield's "I bruise easily" the other day and I just couldn't help but remember how much I loved this song. Some of the lyrics in the song are just…yum! I wanted to portray Bo in this chapter in a way that kind of resembles the some of the lyrics in the song. I do try, really I do lol. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy :).

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Chapter 5: I bruise easily.

_"**So I let down my guard**_

_**Drop my defenses down by my clothes**_

_**I'm learning to fall**_

_**With no safety net to cushion the blow**_

_**I bruise easily**_

_**So be gentle when you handle me…"**_

_** -I bruise easily by Natasha Bedingfield.**_

* * *

"_Hello Detective, miss me?"_

At the sound of his voice I freeze.

_How the fuck did he get my number?_

I'm at a loss for words. The sound of my own rapid heartbeat pounding in my ears.

"I'm a little hurt that I didn't get a nice welcome home party Detective." I can almost see as well as hear the twisted smile on his face. "I had a feeling you weren't going to be asleep so I thought I'd call in. Let me ask you something, do you sleep well at night knowing that there are bad people out there?"

"How did you get this number?!" I demand into the phone, finally able to find my voice again.

"Naww, well I missed you too. So much so that I decided to send you a little gift. It's not much, but it's just a token of my appreciation for being a worthy opponent. Anyway, I'd hate to disrupt anymore of your beauty sleep. Sweet dreams Detective, you'll be in my dreams."

With a click of the phone hanging up, he's gone. I sit there in stunned silence trying to make sense of what just happened. So many thoughts are racing through my head.

_Gift? What gift?_

I startle at the feel of my phone vibrating again. Checking the screen I see that I've received a text from an unknown number. Opening the message it read:

'_Lovely chat Detective. Btw, how's your mother?'_

All sense of feeling leaves my body the moment I finish reading the text. I feel numb. I can only stare at the screen of my phone.

_My mother? What does he want with her?_

Ever since our last falling out, I hadn't seen my mother in about three months. As to her whereabouts, I never really knew. No one did. You don't go looking for Aoife. Aoife finds you.

The thought of calling back the number quickly crosses my mind. However, common sense told me that Taft wouldn't be stupid enough to keep the phone.

_Where is she? Does he have her? Is she his next victim?_

So many questions with little to no answers. How did my life become such a shit hole? In a span of six months I feel like I've started to lose myself. I thought that I would return to normal after the Taft incident, but I didn't. In the last six months I manage to lose my boyfriend. My mother left and I have no clue where she is. My current new acquaintance is a bottle of whiskey and the same psycho I have nightmares about is somewhere out there just waiting in the wings. I'm scared shitless and I don't know what to do.

My body is now on autopilot as I start to get up. I need to get away from here. I need to clear my head. Pulling on a black hoodie, gray sweat pants and donning a pair of sneakers I make my way out of my room. Quickly peeking into Kenzi's room I can just make out the top of her head under layers of blankets and hear her soft little snore.

_Looks like Kenzi made the most of that bottle. _

Just as I reach the door, I remember the set of eyes on the shack. I'm suddenly grateful for the back entrance that Dyson knows nothing about.

Checking that the coast is in fact clear, pulling up the hood, I start out into the night in a slow jog. I welcome the cold crisp air into my lungs. I've always loved the cold. For some reason, there was always something about the cold that could wake me up better than what any cup of coffee could. I loved that you could see your breath in the air. I loved the feeling of not being able to feel the tips of your ears or nose. Tonight was the perfect night to go for a run. As I pull further away from the Crack Shack (courtesy of Kenzi) I feel myself start to relax a little. I start to concentrate on nothing but the constant rhythm of my breathing and the sound of my feet as they hit the pavement.

* * *

I don't know how long I've been jogging for but when I finally stop, it's outside an apartment building I pass many times on my way to and from work. Before I know it I'm through the door, into the elevator and walking through the hallway finally coming to a halt in front of a door with the number 26 on it. Just when I finish knocking, I suddenly realize what I'm doing.

_What the __**fuck**_ _am I doing?! It's god knows what o'clock and I decide that now is a great time to pay someone a visit?_

I can feel myself start to panic. I know it's too late to leave now so I just stand there staring blankly at the solid white door with the silver numbering. I mentally kick myself. Darn my impulsiveness.

_Idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot. She's probably asleep for god sake!_

I feel guilt start to settle in the pit of my stomach.

_Shit…too late now. _

When the door finally opens, I feel guiltier.

"Bo? What are you doing here?" Lauren asks.

_Stalking you apparently. _

"I uhm…I was out for a run and I uh…was in the neighbourhood and I thought that maybe I'd drop in and err…say hi," I say lamely.

I watch as she turns her head slightly to her right before looking back at me with a quizzical brow and a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"At 3:23 in the morning?"

I bow my head feeling incredibly guilty.

"I'm sorry," I mumble. "It's just that I really needed to get away so I decided to go for a run and before I knew it I was knocking on your door. I remember you telling me where you live and I didn't even realize until after I did it that it was the middle of the night an—" I stop mid sentence at the sound of my name.

"Bo? Breathe. It's okay," opening her door wider and stepping aside she gestures for me to come in. I can feel my cheeks start to heat up embarrassed that I've once again been reduced to a babbling idiot in front of the blonde. It's like my brain and my mouth don't know how to coordinate whenever I'm around her.

Giving her an awkward smile I slowly make my way into apartment. Standing in the middle of her apartment I can't help but think about how Lauren the place looks. There were still a few packed boxes here and there but other than that it looked like she made good use of her first weekend here.

As my eyes scan the apartment they come to rest on a kitchen bench with a laptop and files strewn across it. At the sound of the door closing gently I turn to face Lauren again. Walking past me and into the kitchen she tells me to take a seat.

Seated at a stool by the bench I take a moment to take in what she's wearing. Dressed in loose fitting pajama pants and an oversized jumper complete with bare feet, I smile a little at how small it makes her look. I find myself wishing she had something a little more form fitting on. Suddenly I'm conscious about what I'm wearing and the feel of my sweaty tank top stuck to my skin reminding me I'd just been on a run.

"Anyone in there?"

I snap my head up to find Lauren looking at me.

"Sorry. Did you say something?"

Giving me a warm smile and pointing to two cups she asks, "Coffee?"

I nod, not really sure what else to say.

_Thank you would be a start you bitch. _

I watch again in silence as she makes our coffees before making her way over, stopping on the opposite side of the bench and handing me my mug. I wrap my hands around the mug, thankful for the immediate warmth. Taking a sip, I can't help but close my eyes and savour the coffee as it does wonders warming my insides. I can't help the tingle that runs up my spine.

_Mmm. This is really good. _

Feeling like I'm being watched, I open my eyes to find Lauren watching me again.

"This is really good…" I pause. Taking a longer sip of coffee before placing the cup onto the counter with my hands still wrapped around it.

"Thank you," I try again. "I really am sorry about showing up unannounced, I wasn't exactly thinking," I say looking down at the mug in my hands.

I jump a little at the feel of a hand on top of mine.

"You're very welcome…." Lauren says, removing her hand from mine, I miss her touch immediately. Straightening up she moves back a step to lean against the bench behind her. "…And it's okay. I was awake anyway. I was going over your report and the case files again," She continues pointing at the laptop and files next to me.

"Your apartment's really nice."

"It's not much but it's home," the blonde says looking around.

Silence fills the air again as we both become lost in our own thoughts for a minute.

"Taft called me earlier," I say finally breaking the silence. Lauren only nods, waiting for me to continue. I relay the conversation back to her; finishing on the text I'd received from Taft. Lauren is nothing but attentive throughout the exchange. When I finish I wait for her to take a moment for it to sink in.

"How are you feeling? Right now?" she asks, her eyes watching me carefully.

"Honestly?"

"Mhmm…"

"Scared, lost, frustrated, confused, angry, hopeless and just…" stopping I swallow the tears that threaten to make it's way to the surface, "…I just don't know what to do Lauren. Do you know that he haunts my dreams? Almost every night. He's there, taunting me, torturing me…" My voice is starting to shake now. I feel my throat tighten as my emotions slowly start to overwhelm me. I shut my eyes tightly, turning my back on Lauren, bowing my head trying to will the tears away.

_Hold it together Dennis; you're tougher than that._

"Bo…" I hear suddenly aware that Lauren is now in front of me. Placing her fingers under my chin and tilting my face up to face her I open my eyes, "…it's okay to cry sometimes, it's human."

Finally unable to hold it in I let it out. When Lauren pulls me into a tight embrace I really start to bawl. For now, my walls were down. The realization of just how much I've been through taking its toll. For all the times Dyson has hurt me. For all the times I've had to hold it together watching distraught parents break down over news of what Taft did to their daughter. For all the times my mom was never there when I needed her and most of all, for now, realizing that even Dennis the Menace isn't bulletproof.

When I finally break away from Lauren's embrace, I feel a bit lighter, albeit, all cried out. Fully recovered from my episode I glance at Lauren. It's then that I realize the extent of what just happened.

"Oh my fucking god! Lauren I'm so sorry! I can't believe I just cried all over you," I exclaim mortified at what just transpired and pointing at the wet patch on Lauren's left shoulder. Turning her head to where I was pointing, she gives a small laugh.

"Bo, it's okay, really. Besides, not like I can't wash it. We do have washing machines in this century you know?" she says. Her attempt at trying to lighten the mood does nothing to alleviate my embarrassment, but I can't help the smile that crosses my features.

"I can't believe you just saw me ugly cry," I say shaking my head. "Not to mention I probably stink!" I add remembering that I had been out breaking a sweat earlier.

"You did more than just ugly cry. Can't believe I let you slobber all over me," she replies. "And yes…you do stink," she finishes now laughing. Her laugh becomes infectious and I join her. Forgetting about what just happened I'm glad at how quickly the mood changes.

Finally settling down and putting my serious face on, I look up at Lauren.

"Thank you Lauren. The only person that's ever seen me like that is Kenzi."

Moving closer, she reaches up to brush a stray hair from my face. I shiver as I feel her fingers lightly graze my neck when she pulls back her hand.

"Like I said Bo, we're in this together," she says her eyes locked onto mine. Suddenly I feel the air grow thick with what I could only describe as electricity, followed by that pull.

_Not that hard to just lean in an—_

"Hey, what's with all the laughing?"

_Are you __**kidding**__ me right now?! _

Breaking eye contact we both turn our heads towards the source of the interruption. I feel Lauren step back and fold her arms across her chest. When the source finally emerges from the top of the stairs making their way down, I stiffen a little.

"Oh…Laur, I didn't realize you had company?"

"Yeah…sorry if we woke you Mike," Lauren says before turning to me again. "Bo, this is Mike. Mike this is Bo, my new partner from work," she continues gesturing between us.

"Wow, you're hot!" says the stranger. "OW! What'd you do that for?!" he cries rubbing his arm where Lauren punched him. Hard.

"Apparently my brother here has forgotten his manners," Lauren says to me stepping around him to go into the kitchen.

At that moment, I can't describe just how relieved I am to find out that it's Lauren's brother.


	6. Chapter 6: When your words mean nothing

**A/N:** I really can't thank you all enough with all the great feedback I'm getting. You make writing this all the more…I don't know…fulfilling? It's not really the word I'm looking for but it'll do. Lol. This chapter is a bit, er, bumpy so brace yourselves. Now, without further delay, I present a semi long, Chapter Six.

* * *

Chapter 6: When your words mean nothing.

After a hearty breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs (requested especially by Mike), I was on my way back to the shack. According to Mike, his older sister made the best pancakes, and boy was he right. Had Kenzi been there she'd have muscled through those pancakes like it was nothing. Lauren had offered to drop me off but I lightly declined wanting to take a moment to gather myself again. The walk home would give me time to think about things. It was still quite cold outside but I could see that today was going to be a beautiful day.

_Lauren was right, not a cloud in sight._

I feel a slight tug of a smile at the thought of Lauren. She really was something else. After our quick introduction, Lauren offered to make breakfast for Mike and I. Actually; it was more of a command than an offer. I couldn't say no to her even if I tried. Breakfast was definitely eventful. Lauren and her brother kept the atmosphere light and their banter had me with a smile fixed on my face the entire time. My cheeks were hurting by the time I finished eating.

I learned Mike was staying with Lauren temporarily while he looked for an apartment himself. From what he told me, Mike was a struggling musician. Well, struggling musically not financially anyway. Originally he wanted to follow his sister's footsteps but his passion for music was stronger. He offered to serenade me one day topping it off by waggling his eyebrows suggestively at me. I laughed it off and told him he could try. My interest was piqued when he mentioned that he tried to coerce Lauren into becoming a singing duo but she always refused saying that she couldn't sing. I remember thinking that I wouldn't mind her serenading me.

I noticed that both siblings were nothing alike. Although both witty their personalities couldn't be more different. Where Lauren was a little more serious, organized and precise, Mike was aloof, energetic, outspoken and loved attention. In some ways he reminded me of Kenzi. I also found out that Lauren had actually planned to become a doctor and had almost finished med school. She dropped out after a tragic accident and decided to the force instead, quickly making detective after a year and a half. They didn't share any further details about it so I didn't push. From what I could tell, it was a touchy subject. I wondered if that had been the reason for their move.

Then there was that moment Lauren and I shared just before Mike interrupted. I couldn't remember ever feeling such a strong attraction to someone I had only just met no less than 48 hours ago. Not even Dyson had that affect of me when we first met. There had been attraction, but nothing like this. I wasn't sure whether or not I was glad that Mike had interrupted us. I knew that deep down I was slightly relieved. As attracted as I am to Lauren, I knew I was still a mess. I didn't want to start something that could potentially hurt either one of us.

Shoving my hands deeper into my pockets and quickening my pace, I had another five minutes before I'd reach home, finally. I needed a long hot shower that's for sure. Now that I realize it, maybe I should've taken that offer for a ride home.

* * *

When I pulled open the door I froze on the spot.

_Shit!_

I completely forgot about Dyson and my security guards. Hale was sitting at the kitchen bench fiddling with his hat while Dyson was standing with his arms folded a disapproving look on his face. A small groan from the couch caught my attention. My eyes land on Kenzi who was sitting with her head in her hands. Gathering my composer again, I close the door behind me and make my way further into the shack.

"Morning, beautiful day don't you think?" I say a little too brightly.

"Where the _**fuck**_have you been?!" Dyson asks not really hiding the anger in his voice.

"Out," I say curtly as I make my way into the kitchen to turn on the kettle. "Coffee?" I ask gesturing to Hale.

"Sure, don't mind if I do," he says smiling at me.

"Kenz?" I say turning to where she's seated, "What about you?"

"YES PLEASE!" she says jumping up from the sofa and making her way over, plopping herself onto the seat next to Hale. Hearing a frustrated growl from the other side of the room I chance a glance at Dyson. I can see him gritting his teeth trying to keep his calm. If there was one thing Dyson hated, it was one-worded answers and people ignoring him.

"I tried calling you," he says shortly, dropping his arms to his sides and walking into the kitchen. "Imagine my surprise when I came up here to find you gone and your phone lying on your bed!"

I never did notice that my phone was missing until now. Handing Hale and Kenzi their coffee I turn around to face Dyson. He's leaning against the fridge door, arms folded across his chest, glaring at me.

"I told you before Dyson, you can't dictate my life. If I want to leave my own shitty house, I can leave. I don't need to ask permission," I say brushing past him. Before I can get any farther he stops me with a tight grip on my upper arm.

"If you know what's good for you Dyson you'll let me go," I say starting to get irritated. Loosening his grip on my arm, I stalk off.

"You've changed Bo," he says before I reach the stairs. Stopping briefly I contemplate a comeback. Realizing that I had no energy for a fight this early in the morning I continue my way up to my room. Stripping on my way to the bathroom leaving a trail of clothes in my wake, I turn on the shower. Waiting for it to heat up I can feel a tightening in my throat again. Shaking my head to collect myself I step into the shower to try and wash away some of the events that just occurred in the last 24 hours, lingering on the ones that I really wanted to dwell on, like the ones that included Lauren.

When I walk out of the bathroom half an hour later I almost jump out of my skin when I see Dyson sitting on the foot of my bed. Tightening the sash around my robe I make my way to my drawers, pulling them open and rifling through them to find something to wear.

"What happened to us Bo?" I hear Dyson whisper.

"Good question. You should ask yourself that, not me," I say pushing the draws closed again and making my way into the bathroom to change. Stepping out again I see Dyson sitting in the same position I'd left him.

_I am so not in the mood for this right now._

"What do you want me to say Dy? You broke it off remember?"

"I don't want to see you get hurt, I just want to protect you," he says looking up at me.

"You know, you're really starting to sound like a broken record right now."

Making my way over to my closet I pull it open. With my mind racing a mile a minute I just stand there staring blankly at the array of jackets hanging there.

"If sounding like a broken record will get the message through to you better then so be it," I hear from directly behind me. Spinning around quickly I find myself face to chest with Dyson. I didn't realize just how close he was. Tilting my head up to look him in the eyes I'm a little taken aback by how intense his gaze is. Cupping my cheek gently in his hand I can't help but close my eyes. When I open them, Dyson's face is serious. Biting my bottom lip I try to keep my cool.

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost you Bo. I hate what we've become," he says softly.

_Seriously what the fuck was going on? Are you really trying to screw up my already confused feelings right now Dyson? Because you're doing a mighty fine job right now. _

At the moment I really don't know what to think. Just when I thought I was getting myself together, Dyson has to come along and fuck it all up again for me. Reaching up to touch the hand on my cheek, I grasp it tightly before pulling it away. Letting go of his hand I bring mine up to his chest pushing him gently away from me. I need to distance myself from him. I know that if I don't do that now, I'll do something I'll regret, and that was a path I didn't want to go down again. I needed to start stepping up and standing my ground.

"Dyson, I can't," I tell him. "You hurt me. I can't just…forgive that. You can't just expect me to pretend that everything between us is okay because, you know as well as I do, that it's not. You knew what I wanted and you ran Dy. You took the easy way out because you didn't like my answer."

Shoving his hands into his jacket pockets and dropping his head he lets out a sigh. "I know,' he whispers again. It was strange seeing him like this. It reminded me of a small child. He looked so…defeated. For now I couldn't play this game with him. Not when there were other things to worry about. The ringing of both our phones breaks the heavy silence in the room.

"Thornwood,"

"Dennis," we both answer in unison. "Okay…thanks, we're on our way," I say quickly. Locking eyes with Dyson he nods at me. Stepping up to him I lay a hand on his shoulder. "When all is said and done we'll talk. But for now, we have to work together."

* * *

Arriving at the scene of the crime, I quickly scan the area to see if Lauren has arrived yet.

_Knowing Lauren, she probably arrived already, ten minutes early I'll bet. _

Spotting her and slowly congratulating myself on how right I am I make my way swiftly over to where she's standing talking to Malc. I shudder at the thought of what Malc might be saying to her.

"Hey guys, what've we got?" I ask putting a stop to whatever it was Dr. Creeper was going to say. Straightening himself and moving towards the victim, Malc starts giving me the low down. As creepy as he may be, I couldn't deny how good he was at his job.

"Victim is female, about 5'6, mid to late twenties. No personal items were found on her so we can't I.D. her so hopefully she's in the system. If not, dental records will do. A few teenagers roaming around the area found her here," he says pointing at the general area in which the teens had come from. "She's been dead about four to five hours? Of course I'll be able to determine that accurately after I run a few tests at the lab, but like the last victim sans bloodbath, there are puncture wounds on her neck. Also broken bones, cuts, bruises and such consistent with Taft's work. There is, however, something slightly different about how she's, er…placed."

"How do we know it was really Taft and not the other one?" Lauren asks next to me.

When we reach the body, I feel a sense of déjà vu. Seated on a wooden chair right in the middle of the alley was our victim. The way she was laid out was all too familiar. With both hands tied behind her back and legs tied to together, it was the exact same position Taft had put me in. She was dressed only in her bra and panties. The gag around her mouth did nothing to suppress the memories. Her head was facing skyward and right on her neck was a massive gash running from one ear all the way round to the other. Leaning in closer to get a better look I could see the tell tale signs of the puncture wounds from the syringe.

"The cleanliness of the body. After Taft is done with his victims he likes to clean them up again. Washing away all the blood so we can see his, how do I put this, 'Masterpiece' without all the mess."

Standing up straight, I turn to Taft again, "Was there anything else that they found on her?"

Nodding and handing me a phone I look at it puzzled. "Turn it around."

Turning the phone around hear myself take a sharp intake of breath. Right on the back cover of the phone read: Bo, turn on.

I realized immediately that this must have been the phone Taft had texted me from. Turning on the phone and navigating to the messages I find nothing in the inbox except for one saved under "Drafts". Opening it I follow the instructions telling me to open the video saved on it.

Just before I start the video, I see both Dyson and Hale jog over to us. Hitting play we all wait in silence. When the video starts it's an extreme close up of the girls face. The state she's already in, I can tell Taft has already done a number on her; she could barely keep her head up. When the camera zooms out, Taft appears on the screen right next to the bloodied girl, scalpel in had.

"Hello Detective Dennis. Like my little gift? Pretty isn't she? Well, she was…" at his words, the poor girl tries to struggle. With a quick back hand to the right side of her cheek, she cries out in pain, the sound of the contact making me wince. "Now, now, my dear," bringing his hand up to slowly stroke the girls cheek before administering an injection straight to the neck, I watch as the girl's head slowly lolls forward again. "There's a good girl."

Turning back to face the camera, he continues with his message.

"As I was saying, your gift, will be served to you on a platter Detective. She put up a bit of a fight but she wasn't as determined you. I'm going to enjoy watching the life drain out of her and now, so are you."

With quick movement and precision he pulls the girls head back by her hair and in a well-practiced swipe, he runs the scalpel right across the girl's throat. An audible gasp can be heard to my right from Lauren. We're all huddled so close together I can feel both Dyson and Hale go tense from behind me. Turning back to the camera and giving it a wink he starts to move closer.

"Happy Birthday to me," he says before all we can see is just his face. "Your mother says 'Hi', goodbye," after the video ends everyone around me is silent.

Turning to Malc I ask him if this was all that was left behind. He nods silently. His face is pale and I can see the fear in his eyes. For someone who works with dead bodies all day, it's kind of amusing seeing his reaction. Glancing over at Lauren she too seems to be at the loss for words. I start to feel guilty again wishing that maybe having her as a partner wasn't the best idea. I didn't like the thought of her putting her life on the line for me. In fact, I hated the fact that Taft was starting to get to everyone that was important to me.

For several moments no one says anything. I wasn't sure what drove me but I felt like I had to do something. Gesturing to one of the officers on the other side of the alley I call him over.

"If you find anything else, you let me know immediately, got it?" I tell him giving him a stern look.

"Uhm…yes mam. Er…Detective, sir," he says giving me an awkward salute.

"You can go now," I say again.

"Y-y-yes. Of c-course," he splutters before turning and making his way back to what he was doing but not without stumbling over his own feet.

Looking at the other four I hold up the phone, "We need to get this to the Chief, he needs to see this."

Our ride back to the station is a silent one. Lauren was riding with me since Mike was using her car so he could have a look at an apartment. She's in the passengers seat fiddling with her hands while she stares straight ahead. Once again my body is in autopilot as I drive us back to the station. My grip on the wheel is firm, so much so that my knuckles have turned white. My body is tense and I can only stare blankly straight ahead. It's a miracle that we even make it to the station in one piece.

* * *

After showing Trick the video, he remains still, seemingly unfazed. Lauren, Dyson, Hale and I are the only ones in Trick's office. Sitting back in his chair and clasping his hands together he turns to us.

"I can't say I didn't see this one coming."

_Excuse me?_

Before I can say anything, Trick lifts a hand to stop me before I can get a word out.

"Before you say anything, I need all four of you to understand something, are we clear? I don't want any interruptions until after. Understood?" He finishes giving us all a look that meant business. We all give him a nod of acknowledgement.

"Bo, your mother used to know Taft,' he says to me. I bite the inside of my cheek almost drawing blood. I feel my body tense at the revelation. Under the desk I feel I hand on my knee followed by a gentle squeeze. I turn briefly to where Lauren is, she's looking at me with that concerned gaze of hers. My body relaxes a little. I give her a small smile before settling back into my seat.

"They both went to the same high school. Taft was your mother's friend. That boy followed her around like a lost puppy. I never understood how he and Aoife became friends, let alone made sense. However, when Aoife started to become more popular in her senior, Taft started to show signs of his…obsession for her. He started sending her gifts and flowers telling her that it was just because he owed her. When it started getting to the point of stalking, Aoife cut all ties with him and we moved."

_Guess that explains a lot about Taft, but, what does he mean __**we**__? _

I couldn't help but wish he would just cut to the chase so I can ask him what he meant.

"At first, she thought she was safe from him. She finished her senior year and managed to get into college. It was there that she saw Taft again. You can imagine my shock when I come home from work to find him sitting in my kitchen. Aoife was always for second chances so I shouldn't have been surprised that she forgave him. He may have fooled her but not me. Every time they were together I always got an uneasy feeling."

This was all starting to sound a bit too much to me. My mother and Taft knew each other? Why does it sound like Trick knows my mother? At the moment I couldn't even begin to comprehend the possibilities of where this story was going.

"When the boy Aoife started seeing was getting more serious, Taft's jealousy started to show. He started to initiate little fights, telling her she was being stupid, she shouldn't trust the guy. Things quickly went downhill from there and I stepped in. I took up the issue with his parents and weeks later they moved. That was the last time I ever saw him…until that first night we caught the bastard," Trick said closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. I couldn't help but see just how old Trick was at this moment and time. I always looked at him as being ageless, but seeing him looking so…vulnerable was kind of a shock to the system.

Lauren is the first to move. It wasn't until she moved that I realized her hand had been on my knee the entire time.

"So," Trick mumbles before looking at us again, "...any questions?"

"We, you said 'We' moved. Why do you say it like you and Aoife lived together," I ask jumping right in.

"That's because we did live together," sighing tiredly, Tricks eyes land on me. "Bo…Aoife is my daughter."

Well…wasn't expecting that one. After the initial shock wears off my mind starts to swim with more questions. This seems to be a regular occurrence lately. Questions followed by more questions yet still no damn answers. The more questions the more agitated I become. How could he hide something like this from me?

"How could you not tell me? All these years…"

"It was to protect you," he says to me like it'd make it that much better.

"I was thrown around from one foster home to the other until I was 18 and all you have to say to me is that it was for my own protection? Do you know how hard it was for me not knowing who or why my parents left me? Everyone had a legitimate excuse to be a foster kid! I on the other hand had a perfectly healthy mother and now from what I find out a grandfather too!" My voice is starting to shake with anger.

"Bo, please calm down. It's a lot more complicated then that," Trick says holding up both hands in surrender.

"Calm down?!" I spit at him acidly. I'm standing now, both hands clenched into fists at my side. "How did you think I'd react Trick? Did you want me to hug you be ever so happy that now I've found yet another piece to the puzzle that is Bo Dennis' life?"

"I…" he starts but I cut him off quickly.

Turning on my heel I storm off. Before reaching the door I turn my head to face him again.

"Save it Trick, I have a mother to find," with that I walk out, slamming the door behind me.


	7. Chapter 7: It's such a cold, cold world

**A/N: **Again thank you all so much! I love reading all your thoughts and comments. I love how well you're all embracing the story. To answer **cheekymadom**'s question, yes I do watch a lot of crime/cop shows lol. I love NCIS, Bones, Rizzoli and Isles, CSI etc etc. Now due to the fact that I'm going to be M.I.A for a couple of days due life getting in the way, thought I'd give you all an early present for the weekend. It's not as intense as the last chapter, but it's just a little something something. Have a great weekend and enjoy! :) Sigh. If only I put this much effort into my assignments.

* * *

**Chapter 7 – It's such a cold, cold world.**

After storming out of Trick's office, I decided I'd make my way to the gym. I needed to do something to let out my frustrations and the best place to do it was in the gym…with a punching bag. Things were quickly spiraling out of control and I wasn't sure if I was able to handle any of it.

Sending a hard right to the punching bag I let out a frustrated growl. One blow after the other I let it rip at the bag. Every punch I threw I would imagine one problem after the other. But for every heavy blow I let fly, it was always Taft's face that I saw. With my headphones in and my music blasting in my ears, for a moment, I was in my own world. Right hook, jab, jab, and punch.

Trick is my grandfather. Jab. Four years in the force and never once did he think to mention who he is. Jab, jab. Taft and my mother were friends. Straight right. Dyson is a tool. Jab, jab and hook. Taft has my mother. Jab, jab and punch. Fuck. How the hell did things turn out like this? After just fifteen minutes I'm huffing and puffing. After another five minutes I couldn't take it anymore. I let all my frustrations out on the punching bag and I knew I'd be hurting in the morning. I haven't hit the gym in two months.

After a quick shower, I make my way into the locker rooms to change. Rounding the corner I find Lauren sitting on one of the benches talking on the phone. She hasn't spotted me yet, so I just stand there clad in nothing but a towel, watching her. After she hangs up she finally spots me, giving me a cautious smile. Silence engulfs the room and I wonder briefly just how she knew where to find me.

"Uhm…that was Mike. He called to tell me that he's found an apartment about five minutes down the block from mine."

I can only manage a nod.

Standing up, she slowly makes her way over, stopping right in front of me.

"Bo, we need to talk," she says quietly. Her eyes bore into mine, worry written all over her face. I break eye contact and move to my locker. I remain silent as I start to change. I hear a gasp from Lauren when I drop my towel, not really caring that she can see me in all my naked glory. I'm comfortable changing in front of other women. Like Kenzi says, 'If you've got it, flaunt it'. When I finish I look over to see Lauren with her back to me.

"You can turn around now," I say finding it kind of cute that she still has a hint of pink in her cheeks when she turns back around.

"I…uh…sorry," she murmurs still looking at the ground.

Making my way over to her and mimicking her actions from this morning I tilt her head up to look at me. "It's okay, I should've warned you."

Dropping my hand again, I pick up my duffel bag, ready to make my way out. I stop again at the sound of Lauren saying my name.

"Bo…we need to talk about what happened."

"There's nothing to talk about Lauren. You heard what Trick said, he's my grandfather, and I don't think it gets any clearer than that, he's had time…a lot of time to tell me but he didn't. Oh and I forgot, Taft is still a deranged psychopathic asshole who enjoys making my life a living hell just because my mother rejected him."

I start to feel my anger starting to rise to the surface again at the reminder. I'm starting to become tired of talking. I want to do something. Anything. I had to find my mother and the more talking, the less time spent on trying to find her.

"Don't shut me out Bo. I can't help you if you don't let me in," she replies.

"Yeah well no one asked for your help," I snap. With my back still turned to her, I say nothing more and walk out of the room, angry tears stinging my eyes.

* * *

When I arrive home, Kenzi is nowhere to be found. Throwing myself onto the couch I cover my face with a pillow, I take a deep breath and scream into it. On my drive home I realized just how much of a bitch I was to Lauren. She had done nothing wrong and she didn't deserve that. It was one of the reason I hated having a partner. I hated feeling like I was obligated to confide in someone just because we're partners.

_Yeah well maybe you should've thought of that before you decided to go have a big fat cry at Lauren's this morning._

Sighing, I lie there with the pillow still covering my face. My body starts to relax and I slowly start to drift off to sleep. Just then I hear the lock turn and the sound of Kenzi's high-heeled boots hitting the hardwood floor as she makes her way into the living room.

_I guess that's no to sleeping then. _

When the sound of her heels stop, it's silent for a moment. I let out a scream when I feel Kenzi jump on me, straddling me at the waist and grabbing the pillow from my face.

"Hiya bitch face, if you're trying to play hide and seek, I gotta say your hiding place is pretty shitty," she says to me a big smile on her face.

"What the fuck Kenz?!" I grumble at her, pushing the smaller woman onto the floor, landing her right on her ass.

"Bitch," she mutters quickly getting up. "What's up your ass?"

Lying back down on the couch, I grab the pillow to successfully cover my face again, not before muttering a quick 'everything' to her. I feel her lift my legs and place them on her lap as she settles herself on the opposite end of the sofa.

"Okay, tell Dr. Kenz what the problem is. Don't forget I charge by the minute, girls gotta make a living."

With my eyes still closed, I take the pillow away from my eyes. Sighing, I open them to stare up at the ceiling.

"Trick's my grandfather," I say bluntly.

"Shit. Really? Hmm…guess I shouldn't be surprised he got some. Pretty sure he'd be a freak in the sheets."

"Seriously? Ew…"

"Hey, just saying. I mean, the man may be old but from what I've seen, he's got some moves."

"Kenzi…please…"

"Right, sorry. What else?"

For the next half hour I relay to her the day's events. Leaving out the part about showing up at Lauren's apartment this morning and having a good cry.

"Fuck me days…" she finally lets out after several moments of silence.

"My thoughts exactly," I reply closing my eyes again. "So, what's your advice doc?"

"First of all, you owe me a drink tonight. Secondly, I'm not surprised that Dyson might still have a thing for you. He may have been the one to break it off but whenever you're not looking he always watches you with these big lovesick puppy dog eyes. It's kinda really sickening. Hale and I have an on going bet actually," she says turning to face me. I glare up at her.

"What? Like I said, gotta make a living."

Rolling my eyes at her, I wait for her to continue.

_Trust Kenzi to find all means necessary to get money._

"Thirdly, I think you need to go and apologize to Hotpants. You _**were**_ a real bitch to her and I see the sparks Bobo and don't try to deny it either. You know I see everything even if you think I'm not watching. I'm like…Jedi Ninja Turtle or whatever."

She's right. I do need to apologize. I worry that when I do go over to apologize she won't want to talk to me. I groan aloud a reminder of how much of an ass I am.

_Wouldn't blame her though…_

"This Taft thing though, I don't know Bo. Just…be careful. I don't want to lose my best friend. You're my sister from another mister. Besides, who else is going to help me save the world from crazy ass robot hooker bitches?"

"And here I thought we had a deeper bond than that. You sure do have a way with words," I say a smile slowly returning to my face. "I feel oddly unsatisfied with this session."

"Oh honey, with the Kenz, it's always satisfaction guaranteed," she replies with a wink.

"Now get your ass up off this couch and go talk to Lauren. She's one of the good ones Bo. Don't be so chicken shit to let someone else in for a change. If she's still your partner after that stunt you pulled, I've gotta hand it to her, she's got some real balls…Now get! Before I lay a good ol' fashioned beat down on yo' ass, Russian mafia style," she says slapping my ass just as I pass her to pick up my jacket.

"Ow, you crazy biatch!"

"Love you too! Not only do you owe me a beer but I'm not letting you in the house unless there's a box in your hand that smells like an extra melty cheesy pizza later!" she calls out to me, just as I reach the front door. For the umpteenth time, I'm glad I have someone like Kenzi in my life.

* * *

This time I decide to drive to Lauren's place. Spotting an empty parking right next to a black BMW, I pull my car up next to it. Just as I start to unbuckle myself, my phone starts to ring. Picking it up I see 'Dyson' appear on the screen. Not really in the mood to talk to him, I send him straight to voicemail and turn off my phone, throwing it unceremoniously into the glove box.

Making my way up to Lauren's apartment, I start to feel myself losing my resolve. I can feel my palms starting to get sweaty. Deep down I secretly hope that no ones home. Finally reaching door number 26 for the second time that day, I give a firm hard knock, stepping back a bit to wait for it to open. Just when I think no ones coming, the door swings open, Mike just visible behind it still talking to someone.

"…least I stopped calling you Lobster Lauren!" he finishes before making himself fully visible. "Bo! Hey! Come in, come in milady…" his says ushering me into the apartment. I walk in tentatively my eyes sweeping the apartment to find Lauren sitting at the kitchen counter with her laptop. "Twice in one day? To what do we owe the pleasure?" he says to me moving into the kitchen, as I remain standing by the door.

"I uhm…was wondering if maybe I could talk to Lauren for a bit?" I ask, my eyes still on Lauren. She still hasn't turned around yet.

"Oh, yeah! Sure, I'll just go down to the grocery store to get what we need for dinner Laur," grabbing his jacket, Mike makes his way over to me. "I hope you're staying for dinner Bo, Laur's making her famous roast chicken and veggie's. It's my fave, and what do you drink, red or white wine? Don't know if she told you but I found an apartment today and I think that calls for a bit of a celebration."

"It's uh..it's okay. I don't want to impose and I wasn't really planning on staying long."

"Oh come on, I promise I'll keep you both thoroughly entertained," he says giving me a lopsided grin that reminds me of Lauren.

"Don't push her Mike…" Lauren finally says, still with her back to me.

"I'll get both. See you soon," giving me a sympathetic look; he's out the door.

Getting up from her seat I watch as Lauren moves into the kitchen. I watch her as she starts to pack away some dishes.

"Are you just going to stand there or do you want some help? Oh wait, I forgot, you don't like it when people try to help you," she says coldly. I wince.

_Guess I deserve that. Team Lauren – 1. Team Bo – 0._

Crossing the room, I quietly seat myself on one of the stools. For a moment I sit there looking down at my hands. The tension in the air is thick and it does nothing to calm my nerves.

"Do I really have to spoon feed you Bo? If you have nothing to say, why are you here?" Lauren asks again. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I lift my head to find Lauren leaning against the kitchen sink, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

"I uh…I came to apologize. For earlier?" I say again dropping my head.

"You sound unsure, are you or aren't you?"

"I-I _**am**_ here to apologize," I say again.

_Why is this so fucking difficult! Shit. _

The fact that I can't even have one single coherent thought with her around just doesn't help. Taking another deep breath I start again. This time I make sure to look at Lauren.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you like that Lauren. It was uncalled for. When I'm angry, I have no filter. When things get hard, I push people away," I tell her. "I'm not accustomed to letting people in other than Kenzi."

Lauren frowns at me, but doesn't say anything.

"Today has been a bit…emotional for me. I hate roller coasters and today was one roller coaster ride that I didn't want to hop in. I was an asshole. I took my anger out on you and I had no right to and you have every right to be angry with me."

"It's okay to let other people in, Bo. I thought we were getting somewhere this morning, and then you do a complete 360 and pull the 'I didn't ask you' bullshit. So you're right, you were an asshole, but I'm not angry with you Bo. Just…disappointed."

_Ouch, the disappointed card. Team Lauren – 2._

I smile inwardly, remembering what Kenzi said about letting other people in.

_When did she get so wise?_

"I'm trying to be your friend Bo, I don't bite…much," she finishes a hint of a smile in her voice. I can't help but smile up at her. "But we do have to talk about what happened today. Just, maybe not tonight though," she says again moving over to the fridge. I nod silently in agreement, a little relieved that we weren't going to talk about it tonight, however, I wasn't looking forward to actually talking about it later either.

"So uhm…what happened after I left?" I ask, my eyes following her every move as she starts to unload a few veggies from her fridge, placing them gently onto the kitchen counter near the sink.

"Well, Trick didn't say much, he just dismissed us and I decided to go looking for you. Dyson offered but I told him it was probably best if I went instead," she replies starting to chop up a few carrots. "He's the one that told me I'd most likely find you at the gym. Said it's where you like to go when you need to let your frustrations out."

I nod at her when she turns around to look at me. Just at that moment, Mike bursts through the door carrying a bag of groceries and two bottles of wine. I quickly make my way over to him, grabbing the two bottles and setting it down on the counter.

"I didn't realize how cold it was out there! I swear I think my nipples grew twice their size!" Mike says moving over to Lauren, giving her the bag of groceries.

"Delightful Mike, because we really needed to know that."

I chuckle at their little exchange. I swear he and Kenz would get along well like a house on fire.

"Anyway, I ah, better get going," I say to them awkwardly.

"What? But you just got here?" Mike says not making an effort to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"Mmm…stay for dinner Bo, there's more than enough to go around. Besides, if you don't, Mikey here will be all sulky for the rest of the night. If I didn't know better I'd say he has a bit of a crush on you," Lauren says giving me a wink over her shoulder.

"I do not!"

"Sure sure," Lauren says laughing and poking tongues at him.

"I'd love to guys, but I promised Kenz an extra melty cheesy pizza and beer tonight as payment for our therapy session," at this, Lauren raises an eyebrow at me.

"Long story," I reply.

"Fine, but at least promise you'll come to my house warming party. I'm not going to take no for an answer and be sure to bring…Kenz is it?" I nod, letting Mike continue. "Yeah, bring her too!"

"Okay, I promise. Just let me know the time and place and I'll be there," I promise. "Anyway, I'll see you guys soon," I say making my way to the door. Just before I make it to the door, a hand on my shoulder stops me. Turning around I come face to face with Lauren. I'm taken by surprise when she pulls me into a tight hug. Pulling back, she gives my upper arms a gentle squeeze before saying; "I'll see you tomorrow. Bo, everything will be okay."

With a huge smile plastered on my face and a wave final wave to Mike, I make my way out. Kenzi can have an extra helping of extra melty cheesy pizza tonight that's for sure.


	8. Chapter 8: Close your eyes and make beli

**A/N: **Hey all! Hope all is well with everyone. Really can't express my gratitude and appreciation at how well this story is being received! I love y'all! So this is the next chapter. I swear, if there's one thing I hate doing when I write, it's trying to describe what people wear in a way that's imaginable to the reader? Not to mention I have little to no taste in fashion. If something looks good, I'll wear it. Other than that, jeans and tee is where it's at. Yes, I know there's a LOT of UST between Bo and Lauren but I promise it'll be worth the wait! I hope anyway. Without further rambling, Chapter Eight is up.

**Warning: M – **Lil bit of sexiness up ahead.

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Close your eyes and make believe.**

"_Lauren…please..." I whisper breathlessly. _

_Trailing her fingers down the length of my body her hand comes to a stop on the right side of my hip, her thumb tracing lazy circles on my skin. My lust filled eyes follow her as she leans in close to my ear._

"_Mmmm…I love it when you beg," she whispers, taking my earlobe between her teeth and giving it a gentle tug. I close my eyes, groaning out loud as I bite my bottom lip almost drawing blood. _

_Fuck._

"_Lauren, I swear if you don't fuck me right now I'm going to scream…" I growl. _

_Trailing soft kisses along my jawline she plants a quick kiss on my lips, pulling back quickly before I can respond. "So impatient," she says a big smile on her face. "Haven't you ever heard of a little saying about good things coming to those who wait?" she asks a hint of mischief in her eyes._

"_W-well the only thing t-that isn't c-coming is me," I falter as I start to feel her fingers continue their agonizingly slow pace down my thigh. At the feel of her nails slowly raking their way up the inside of my right thigh, I can't help the shudder that runs through my body in anticipation of where that hand is heading. Her teasing does nothing to alleviate the intensifying throb I feel deep within my core. _

_My back arches when I finally feel her fingers run up and down the length of my already soaking center, dipping two fingers inside before continuing upwards, barely brushing my clit. Just when I think she's relented to my pleas, she continues to trail her now wet fingers up my stomach. Bringing those two fingers up to her mouth, my desire heightens tenfold as I watch them disappear into her mouth. _

"_Mmm…" she says closing her eyes. When she opens them again I can see my own desire reflected in her eyes. Sliding her hand back down to my stomach, she rests it there, that look of mischief still evident. "Tell me what you want Bo?" she asks, her voice dripping with sex. _

"_Fingers…inside…please. Just fuck me Lauren," I barely manage to say before I feel her lips on mine in a hot passion filled kiss. I almost scream when I feel two fingers plunge knuckle deep into me. My hips rise to meet her thrusts as our mouths and tongues slide against one another fighting for dominance. I can't help the moan that escapes when I feel her thumb brush against my clit. I've been on the edge for so long I know this isn't going to last long. Sliding my hands up Laurens back, I stop and dig my nails into her skin when I feel her thumb start to draw circles around my nub._

_Breaking the kiss, she starts to trail hot wet kisses down my throat, occasionally running her tongue along a very sensitive spot there. I'm so close now I can feel myself tighten around her fingers. _

"_Cum for me," she whispers. I feel her smile against the side of my neck before her teeth graze my skin. _

"Fuck!" I exclaim out loud finding myself in an upright position on my bed. Looking around, I find myself surrounded in nothing but darkness, no sign of Lauren anywhere. Realizing it was just a dream I drop heavily back down onto my pillows.

_And what a dream it was. _I think to myself, the images still burned in my brain. Just when my breathing and heartbeat return to normal, the sound of my door being thrown open brings me out of my thoughts. Sitting up again, I can just make out Kenzi's outline, wooden baseball bat at the ready.

"Kenz, ah…what are you doing?" I ask her.

"Bo? You okay? I thought you were being attacked?" She asks lowering the baseball bat, taking a final look around my room before making her way over to sit on the bed.

"Yeah, I'm okay, I was uh…I was just having a dream," I say trying to hide the blush I can feel rising in my cheeks. Ever so observant, Kenzi gives me a questioning look, her grin telling me she knows what kind of dream I just had.

"Don't," I cut her off before she says anything.

"What? I wasn't gonna say anything!" she says a little too innocently her grin getting wider. "Must've been one helluva dream though, HotPants was it?" she quickly adds. Grabbing my pillow I throw it at her, but she's quick, jumping off the bed just before it hits her.

"Sucker," she teases before making her way out of my room again. "I have a spare set of batteries in my drawer if you need it," she says over her shoulder before closing my door quickly just as another pillow goes flying across the room.

_I need a shower. A cold one. _

* * *

When I arrive at the station, I can't help but notice everyone's eyes following me, some of them going quiet and ending their conversations as I pass them. When I get to my desk I find a huge bouquet of red roses on my desk.

_What the hell?_

Moving in closer I spot a card stapled to the paper wrapped around them. Picking up the bouquet I read the message on the card. I drop the flowers quickly when I read what's written on the card.

"Present No. 2 – T."

Red roses. Aoife's favourite flower.

"What time were these delivered?" I ask looking around to find Jason hanging around not far from Dyson's desk. Putting down the file he is holding, he looks at me, giving me a small shrug.

"It was there when I got here five minutes ago. I think Danni at reception let the delivery guy in."

Picking up the flowers, I toss them in the bin. Making my way briskly to Danni's desk I find her sitting there filing her nails, headphones plugged in chewing gum while she hummed along to whatever was playing. I wonder for the hundredth time how she managed to get this job. Reaching over the desk, I pull out one of her headphones startling her.

"Hey!" she cries putting down the nail file.

"What time did they come in?" I demand. She stops her pouting when she sees the anger in my eyes. A look she's all too familiar with, she decides against making a snide comment.

"W-who?"

"The flowers Dan, flowers!" My patience is wearing thin.

"Oh! I thought it was cute. Sooooo romantic. Red roses too! Whoever it was, you must be one special lady to be gi—"

"Dennis!" My back stiffens at the sound of my name. It's Trick. "Office. Now!"

"Come on Bo, let's go," spinning around I find Lauren behind me.

_How long has she been standing there? _

Wrapping her hand around my forearm she starts to steer me towards Trick's office. The feel of her hand on my arm brings back memories of the dream I had this morning. I'm so caught up in my thoughts that I don't notice I've reached the office until Lauren gestures for me to sit down. Remembering what happened the last time I was sat in that chair I opted to stay standing in case I wanted to make another hasty exit. I hadn't planned on coming in here, let alone talk to Trick. I'm still mad at him, but the fact that Lauren is here with me makes me feel a little in control of my emotions…for now anyway.

Closing the door behind us, my eyes follow Trick as he makes his way behind his desk. Adjusting his tie, he offers us a drink. Shaking my head I make my way over to the nearest bookshelf, leaning my back against it. I want to be as far away from him as possible. As far as a tiny room like this would allow. Sitting down in his big leather seat, he gives us both a serious look.

"In light of what happened yesterday Bo, I need you to understand that my actions, forgivable or not were for your protection. You have no idea what I had to do to try and keep you safe. Hidden."

I snort out loud. My protection? I'm getting sick of people lying to me because they want to 'Keep me safe'. I'm a detective, that in itself screams danger. I remain silent, waiting for Trick to continue. Sighing he leans back in his chair.

"We need to get the security footage from Vex's club. Whoever it was that snatched our first victim was there that night. The second victim was found five minutes from the last victim's dumping ground. This can't all be a coincidence. Whoever is working for Taft is picking his girls from this club."

I should've guessed that this was how Taft would pick his victims. Get someone else to do his dirty work. He couldn't risk exposure. Last time he was able to slip through the crowd unnoticed, but now he knew he was going to be watched closely.

Standing up from the desk, Trick makes his way to his whiskey cupboard. Everyone knew that this was where Trick kept his good stuff. Kenz tried taking one once but Trick knew instantly. When he drinks from the good stuff, you know he's stressed more than usual.

"So why not just ask Vex?" Lauren asks.

"He won't give it up easily. Vex has a long history of toying with us. He never makes it easy on any of us when we want to get access to information. He's a businessman and a smart one at that. He knows that this kind of attention from us won't be good for business. When Thornwood and Santiago tried to get those tapes, they were both tossed out on their asses."

_Damn, wish I'd been there. Then again, Dyson's huge ego probably got in the way._

"I need you both to go undercover."

It takes a while before Lauren or I say anything.

"Undercover?" I finally say.

"Vex likes women. Gorgeous women. Since neither of you were there that night for questioning, Vex doesn't know what you look like. I want you to get in there. Do whatever you can to get into that club. Once in, you need to catch Vex's attention. Get him alone and do whatever you can to persuade him to give you those tapes."

"Dyson and Hale…"

"Will be monitoring the both of you."

"If he doesn't give the footage up willingly?"

"Then do whatever you can to get them. This is your case. I want answers just as much as you do. Taft has my daughter. May not seem like it, but I do love her Bo."

At his words I look away. Taking a deep breath I try to will my anger down. As if sensing my change in mood, Lauren stands from her chair. Before she can say anything, Trick is quick to say something.

"I'm sorry Lauren but I need to talk to Bo for a minute…"

With a questioning gaze, I give her a small nod. Making her way over, she grabs my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before making her way out the door closing it behind her. As soon as the click of the lock sounds, I start to feel myself panic.

_Okay, maybe I should've asked her to stay._

"The roses. They're from him aren't they?" Of course he knew. Trick was good, no, great at his job. I'm not surprised that he noticed the flowers on my desk. I manage only a nod. Not trusting myself to say anything. Alone with him in his office, I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to control myself before my temper came into play. I still have so many questions to ask and I wasn't sure if I was ready for the answers.

"Bo, I had every intention of telling you, but I'm your Chief and you know what will happen if news like this gets out. If I didn't know people in high places, I wouldn't be able to work with you. This was the only way I knew how to keep an eye on you without being discovered."

High places? Exactly how much influence does Trick have in this place? I always knew he was someone important, but I never knew the extent of it. Heck, even the mayor knew him personally.

"You didn't have to give me away."

Of all the things I'm annoyed about, this is one thing I don't get. How is giving me away protecting me?

"Taft is the least of your worries Bo."

_Who the fuck can be_ _worse than Taft?_

"I'm hardly in the mood for your vagueness Trick. I have a mother to look for and you're hardly helping by not telling me shit!" My mother, _**his**_ daughter, is missing and he's telling me this now?

"Who? Who else is so dangerous that's got you so afraid?" I demand.

"I can't tell you that. It's not the right time," he says calmly, avoiding any eye contact.

"Not the right _**time**_? Are you kidding me right now Trick?! When will it ever be the right time huh? Because according to the last time you thought it was the right time, it didn't exactly work out how you wanted. So enlighten me, when will it be convenient for you to tell me?" I realize now that I definitely shouldn't have stayed back. I'm really getting tired of the endless secrets that just seem to be piling up.

With still no answer from Trick, I decide to leave.

"Just know Trick, that if Aoife doesn't come out of this alive, it's all on you," with that I walk out, slamming the door firmly behind me. Right now, I needed to concentrate on finding my mother. Aoife and I may not always see eye-to-eye but she's still my mother and I need to find her.

* * *

Standing in front of the mirror satisfied with the way I look I make my way out of my room. With Kenzi's help, I was dressed to kill tonight. Knee high stiletto boots, black leather mini skirt with a zip running full length down the front and buckle fastening belt at the waist, low cut tank top, topped off with a black leather jacket, I was set. My straightened hair up in a tight ponytail finished things off with large silver hoop earrings.

Upon reaching the bottom step I hear a loud cat whistle from the kitchen.

"Wow. Definitely gonna be getting Vex's attention in _**that**_," Hale says giving me a once over.

"Well, I have Kenz to thank for that."

"Damn right you do!" I hear from behind me. Turning I watch as Kenzi comes to a stop right next to me. "He's right. Goodies are out and that's all you need Bobalicious. You lookin' HAWT!"

"Mhmm…and where do you think you're going?" I ask raising an eyebrow at her. Dressed in red skinny jeans, killer high heel boots that looked more threatening than her entire outfit, black and red arm warmers and black corset, she too is dressed to kill. Her dark hair straightened and falling loosely around her shoulders, her eyes are practically glowing blue with excitement.

"With you of course!"

"Kenz, no! I'm going undercover; it's not just for fun you know! Besides, aren't you supposed to be at work?" I narrow my eyes at her. Giving me a pout she says,

"Maybe…BUT, I swapped. Come on Bo! When was the last time we went out? And I mean out, out. The bar doesn't exactly count."

Walking to the coffee table I grab my purse. "Where's Dyson?" I say to Hale.

"He's waiting in the van downstairs." Turning to Kenzi again I tell her she come can come along.

"But NO causing trouble Kenz. At any sign of danger you do exactly what I tell you. When I say run you run, understand?"

"Yes ma'am!"

When the three of us clamber into the van, Kenzi and I at the back with the surveillance equipment, Hale in the front with Dyson, it's just turned 11:34p.m. I grin as I watch Dyson's eyes look me over with a hint of hunger in his eyes. I feel a small sense of satisfaction.

_That's right buddy. You could've had some of this._

"Okay, next stop, Lauren," Hale announces turning around to give us a wink.

When the door to the van slides open, my jaw drops. I may have been dressed to kill tonight, but Lauren was dressed for mass destruction. Clambering into the van, even Dyson is at a loss for words as he watches her through the rear view mirror taking her seat next to me. Like me, she's dressed in a black mini skirt, hair pinned up loosely with a few curls escaping the sides to frame her face, black five-inch pumps and if that's not enough, a dark purple halter that completely exposes her back to me as she reaches to put on her seatbelt. At this point my mouth has gone completely dry.

"Hey," she lets out casually.

_Say something Dennis!_

"Uhm…I…you…" is all I manage to sputter out before Kenzi jumps in.

"Heya HotPants! Or should I say Sex on a stick Lewis? Always knew you had nice legs but damn you're on fire tonight!"

I nod in agreement, my eyes still not leaving Lauren's.

"Close your mouth Bo, drooling doesn't go well with your outfit!"

Closing my mouth quickly and breaking eye contact with Lauren, I turn to glare at Kenzi giving her a not so gentle pinch on the arm.

"OW!" she cries, rubbing her arm and giving a small huff. "Bitch," she mumbles again settling back in her seat.

"You look great too Bo, believe me," I hear Lauren whisper in my ear.

* * *

As the five of us make our way to the club in silence, I can't think of anything but the thought of Lauren's bare thigh rubbing against my own. I'm reminded of the dream again. Blushing, I clear my throat. Wanting to do something to distract my train of thought, I ask the others what exactly the plan is.

"Well, when we get there we'll park about two blocks down the road away from prying eyes. We'll wire the both of you up with earpieces. You know the drill, we can hear you but you can't hear us. D-Man and I will be listening in on everything that's going on. We also have these," taking out a small box, he hands us two small flower pins. "These are camera's so we'll be able to see what you can see. That way we'll also see if you've missed anything."

Clipping on our pins and switching them on, both Lauren and I turn to the monitors decorating the van. I'm slightly amazed at how clear the images are considering how small the pin is.

"Sorry I didn't get you one lil' mama, didn't realize you were coming tonight," Hale explains to Kenzi.

"It's cool, that colour does nothing for my outfit any," she says pointing at said outfit.

When we finally park up, I can already see a quite a queue at the front of club.

_Hmm…really is a popular place. _

Quickly putting on the earpieces, Kenz, Lauren and I make our way out of the van discretely making sure no one is watching. Linking our arms together we walk right up to the front of the queue, stopping in front of a huge man with the word 'SECURITY' written across his wide chest. On a small badge on the side of that wide chest is a nametag that reads 'JOE'. Giving 'Joe' my trademark panty dropper smile, I ask him to let us in.

"Name?" he mumbles almost inaudibly.

"Oh come on, a handsome man like yourself wouldn't really make us wait out here in this big queue now would you?"

"Name?!" he mumbles again, a little louder this time, annoyance starting to spread across his face.

"Don't worry Joe, these three are with me."

Whipping my head around, I see Jason's smiling face making his way over to us, waving madly. When he finally reaches us, Joe steps aside, lowering the barrier for the four of us to make our way into the club.

When we arrive inside, it's absolutely pumping. You can feel the bass from the music rattling your insides. The neon lights, the light fog from the fog machine and the bodies all dripping with sexual energy that you can feel it all around you.

"CAN I GET YOU LADIES A DRINK?" Jason yells at us over the top of the music.

Nodding we all follow him to the bar. Kenz, surprise surprise, orders two Tequila shots. Lauren orders a beer and so do I. Turning to Jason I ask him (or yell rather), how long he's been coming here. He yells back telling me that he likes to come here every weekend for a dance going on to say that Vex plays the best music in town. The only difference about tonight is, is that he was meeting a few friends for a stag do that night. Spotting his friends and quickly waving at them, we bid him farewell before he disappears into the crowd of bodies coming out on the other side where his friends are.

Scanning the room, I spot Vex standing upstairs where the DJ's box is watching the crowd. A movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention. Looking to see what it is I spot Mike. Leaning over to Lauren who's leisurely watching the crowd and sipping her beer, I point out Mike making his way over to us. Putting her beer down she turns to face him. Walking over to him, Kenzi moves closer to sit next to me. Nodding towards the other two, I mouth the words 'Brother' in answer to her question. She mouths back a quick 'Oh' before focusing her attention on them again. I too watch silently as I sip my beer slowly.

_She really does look amazing tonight. _

A tap on my shoulder forces me to stop watching. Looking up, I see a tall well built guy about 5'11, blonde hair blue eyes about mid twenties, hand outstretched and nodding towards the dance floor. Politely I decline. Again he motions for me to dance, his stubbornness really starting to get on my nerves. Just when I think someone needs a good hard kick in the nether regions, a hand in mine stops me. Before I can see who it is, I'm dragged into the sea of people on the dance floor. Just then Cassie's 'Me & U' starts to blast through the speakers.

Finding a spot right in the middle of the club, Lauren pulls me closer to her body, arms wrapped loosely around my neck as her hips start to sway to the sound of the music. Noticing my lack of movement, she leans in close to my ear.

"Move Bo, Vex is watching."

Biting my lip, my eyes make their way up to where I last saw Vex, but he's nowhere to be seen. Slowly starting to follow Lauren's instructions I start to move. Spinning her around, I bring her back flush up against the front of my body, grinding my hips against her. Running my hands slowly up the front of her body as we start to dance to the beat of the music. I lean in close to her ear asking her where he is. Tilting her head slightly to the right my eyes follow to find Vex in a cornered off area indeed watching us. Spinning back around, she pulls me tightly against her body. Bringing her mouth close to my ear again, I shiver when I feel her lips graze my ear.

"He's coming over," she says before placing a light kiss on my neck and to my utter surprise, gives my neck a gentle nip. If my hands weren't gripping her hips so tightly I would've melted right then and there. Closing my eyes, I try to think of something else other than the feel of Lauren's body against mine, or where her lips had been seconds earlier. Opening my eyes again, I find Vex right behind Lauren, motioning for us to follow him. Hesitantly I pull away from Lauren, letting her know that the first part of the mission is complete.

As we follow Vex to his private quarters, I try to think of ways to get the footage. I now regret not having thought about things in further detail. With Lauren pulling me along, I follow blindly not really paying much attention to where we're going. After five minutes we come to a stop in front of a red door.

"After you ladies," Vex says, his heavy English accent evident, as he ushers us inside. Turning on the light he tells us to take a seat. We're in an office. A black leather couch takes up one end of the office. There's a fish tank on the other side, a large mahogany desk right in the middle of the room with a huge leather chair behind it. Two wooden chairs are placed right in front of the desk.

"Please take a seat," he continues as he makes his way behind his desk. With his back still to us, I look over at Lauren. Hesitantly taking a seat in front of us, we watch Vex wordlessly as he finally turns to face us, placing two glasses in front of us.

"Drink?"

We both nod, playing along.

"Thanks," we both mumble.

"Couldn't help but notice your little show back their loves. Not that I'm complaining of course, it was very saucy!" Pouring himself a drink, he sits down in his chair, bringing himself forward, legs and hands under the desk.

"First time here I see?"

We nod.

"Yep, we heard a lot about your club, so we thought we'd check it out." I say my voice coming out in what I thought was a sultry voice. I find myself wishing I'd taken two shots like Kenzi had.

"Well, you chose the right place. I can offer you things you know," he says again giving us a wink.

"Oh? Well, I wouldn't mind working for you," I feign a giggle. It comes out hollow.

"Excellent. Good to know. Now to more important matters," suddenly out of nowhere he pulls out two guns, pointing it straight at Lauren and I, a big grin on his face.

"What _**exactly**_ are two lovely coppers such as yourselves doing in my club?"

_**Oh…shit fuck! **_


	9. Chapter 9: A little less conversation

**A/N: **I promise I didn't forget you all, I just got really really distracted the last couple of days. Anyway, what a load of reviews last chapter! Thank y'all so much! I know the dance bit was short but I just like to keep you on your toes for a bit longer. Anyway, enough rambles, here's the next chapter.I love the idea of Lauren being badass…here's a wee bit of Lauren badassery. Just a tiny bit though. Enjoy :)

* * *

**Chapter 9 – A little less conversation.**

Glancing over at Lauren, I can see how tense she's become. Back straight, hands gripping the arms of the chair so tightly that you can see her knuckles starting to turn white. This wasn't how this was meant to turn out. To make matters worse, neither of us had any form of protection on us. Or at least I didn't.

"What makes you think we're here for anything other than just a good night out?" I ask him trying to stall.

_Come on Dyson, today would be nice!_

Standing now, Vex makes his way around the desk to stand in front of us. Placing both guns gently on the desk, he studies us for a second.

"Well, I do run quite a successful establishment if I do say so myself. However, I know the difference between someone here for a good time and someone here for show. Now lets try again. What are you doing here?"

Adjusting the guns on the desk again to make sure they're still pointing at us, he gives us a toothy smirk.

"Okay fine, you caught us," I turn to look at Lauren.

"We're here for the security tapes," she says calmly and dare I say it, crossing her legs, a little too seductively. I feel my mouth starting to go a little dry as I watch her mini skirt ride up slightly exposing more skin.

_What is she doing?!_

My head is screaming at her at this point. This definitely isn't going the way we planned. Get in and get out. That was the plan.

"Isn't that right Bo?" I don't know what to say. I have no idea what Lauren is planning so I just nod. God, I hope she has some sort of a plan because as of right now, my brain just isn't working!

"Ah, so I'm assuming you ladies work with that scruffy looking fellah and his sidekick? Seriously, hasn't he ever heard of a razor? I'll give you points for honesty ladies."

I swallow hard as I watch Lauren get up from her seat, crossing the short distance between her and Vex. I watch silently as she brings a hand up to his face, running the tip of her index finger lightly down his jawline.

"Maybe we can come to some sort of agreement? I do have handcuffs. Haven't you ever thought of having a threesome involving handcuffs Vex?" her voice drops and damn does it sound sexy. "I mean, two hot, **sexy** ladies at your disposal. We'll do anything you want."

_Shit. If he doesn't take up the offer, I sure as hell wouldn't mind!_

The grin on Vex's face widens as he looks between the both of us.

"Oooo well aren't you kinky! Little S&M never hurt nobody. I think Rihanna said it best when she said chains and whips excite me. Interesting proposition love. Maybe I won't have to kill either of you tonight. Not yet anyway."

Suddenly, things are happening way too quickly for me to process. One second, Lauren's hand is on the inside of Vex's thigh and the next, Vex is face down on the desk, both hands cuffed behind his back. Sitting there dumbfounded, I can't move, still shocked at the turn of events. Lauren motions for me to get up and help her.

_Where the hell was she hiding that? More importantly __**how **__the fuck did she do that?!_

"Bo! Help me before he comes back around and starts calling for security!" Rushing out of my seat I help her drag him to the chair behind his desk. Sitting him down on it I watch his head fall forward. He's unconscious. There's little time for me to ponder how exactly Lauren managed to do it. Finding some duct tape sitting conveniently on Vex's bookshelves, Lauren cover's his mouth with it. Satisfied it's on properly she grabs a vivid lying around on his desk. Pulling his head back she draws a set of lips on it. My mouth drops open as she grins at me.

"What? Just a little souvenir? Reminder or what have you." Grabbing my hand she starts to drag me out the door. I stop her asking her how she did that.

"Less talking, more walking Bo. We need to find Kenzi and Mike. While we were stuck in there, they were on their way to find the surveillance room. Let's go before we get caught. I promise I'll explain everything to you when we get back in the van," grabbing both the guns on Vex's desk and handing me one, I check to see if it is indeed loaded. Reloading it again, I nod to Lauren in confirmation that my gun is indeed loaded before we slip out of his office, gun first.

We slowly make our way down the corridor, guns at the ready, looking out for both Mike and Kenz. Rounding a corner, the sound of movement and hushed whispers catches my attention. Tapping Lauren on the shoulder, I motion in the direction of the sound. Turning around, we hide ourselves on opposite sides of the corridor, back flat against the wall.

"On three," I mouth to Lauren.

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three," stepping out, a surprised scream echoes through the air, cut short by a hand on the culprits mouth. It's Kenzi and Mike. Lowering the gun I round on Kenzi.

"Oh my god! What the fuck Kenzi?!" I spit out. Lowering his hand from Kenzi's mouth, Mike moves over to where Lauren and I are standing.

"No! **YOU** what the fuck! You guys scared the SHIT outta me!" she whispers back pointing a finger at Lauren and I.

"Well next time don't be so noisy. We could hear you both from down the hall. What are you two doing here anyway? I thought you two were getting the footage!" I ask grabbing her by the arm and dragging her down the hall, Mike and Lauren in tow.

"Hey, hey, hey, be gentle. And no, we haven't got anything. We got a little distracted," letting go of her arm I stop her before she can get any further.

"What'ya mean you got 'a little distracted'?"

"Well, Mikey here thought it was a good idea to stop off by the cellar and steal a bottle of wine…and well, you know I can never say no to a good bottle of Pinot Bobo…"

Argh. These two are too alike for their own good. I turn to Mike and glare at him. I spot the bottle of wine in his right hand. Lifting it up for me to see, he gives me a goofy grin and shrugs.

"Whatever, let's just find what we need and go," turning to Lauren, I ask her how long we have.

"We've got less than ten minutes before the sedative wears off. We'll deal with these two later, let's go!"

_Sedative. So that's how she did it. _

Running down the hall we find the door marked 'SURVEILLANCE'. Cracking it open, I take a peek inside.

"Clear," I whisper moving aside to make way for the others to walk through the door. Looking around at the multiple screens in the room I'm not surprised that there's camera's everywhere. The most important one being the back alley camera where we know Jenna had been dumped that night. Turning to Kenz I wait for her to work her magic. With Mike standing guard, Lauren and I watch as Kenzi's fingers fly across the keyboard. Plugging in a USB, we watch impatiently as the footage starts to download.

"Er…guys, how much time left? Company heading this way," Mike starts to bounce around on the balls of his feet.

"Well, if your fingers weren't so sticky, we wouldn't be pushed for time right now!" I hiss.

"Calm your tits Bobo, I've got it!" after Kenzi quickly unplugs the USB, we start to make our way out.

_Shit!_

"HEY! What are you doing here?!"

"Fuck! Dyson…Hale, if you can hear me right now, we're making our way to the back entrance where the alleyway is, you guys better be there when we get out."

Picking up the pace we start to run, rounding the corner we just came from, we find the exit guarded by a big burley man. Like the bouncer at the front of the club, he was big chested and stood at about 6'1, bald head and arms the size of my thigh.

Spotting us, he makes his way towards us in long strides. With Lauren in front, he takes a swing at her but she's quicker. Ducking just in time, she spins out of the way before reaching up to grab his arm, twisting it behind his back and quickly delivering a quick blow to the back of his head with the butt of her gun. It doesn't knock him out but it's enough for him to lose his balance and stumble sideways giving us time to run past.

"STOP!" the other guy yells.

Bursting through the doors, we quickly round another corner to find Dyson and Hale exactly where I hoped they would be. With Hale throwing the door open, we all jump in, just in time, missing the few gunshots that ring through the air. As soon as the doors close, we're off.

* * *

"Dayum HotPants, that was kickass with a side of whoop ass going on with that guy!" Kenzi lets out breathlessly.

Attempting to catch my breath, I survey the inside of the van. Kenz and Mike are both sitting on the ground clutching their sides trying to catch their breath. To my amazement, Mike's wine bottle is still firmly gripped and intact in his right hand. When my eyes land on Lauren, she too is breathing heavily; the only difference is she's now clutching at her left arm. Moving in closer, even with the lack of light, I can see the dark colouring of blood seeping through her fingers.

"Shit! Lauren," I exclaim moving closer to her to get a better look. She was the nearest to the door and had been the last to jump into the van. Looking around the van, I can't find anything to press against the wound to slow down the bleeding. Remembering Mike's t-shrit, I turn to him demanding that he take his shirt off.

"You know, I usually take the girl to dinner first before any removal of clothing is involved."

"Shirt! NOW!" I growl at him.

Tossing me the shirt, I remove Lauren's hand, pressing the balled up material firmly against her wound to apply pressure. She winces at the contact but places her hand over mine. With a smile in her eyes she whispers a light 'thank you'.

"Wow…" I hear from the other side of the van. Looking over to see what's going on, I find Kenzi staring open mouthed at a now shirtless Mike. Clearing his throat, Hale throws Mike his jacket to wear. The little look of jealousy that passes Hale's face doesn't go unnoticed.

"Dyson," I say turning towards the front of the van, "We need to get to a hospital, Lauren's been shot."

"On it," he says running through a red light.

"No! I'm fine. The bullet just grazed me," at that moment the car, jerks upwards as we go over a speed bump making Lauren groan in pain.

Giving her a stern look I tell her I'm not letting her out of my sight until she sees a doctor. She rambles on, reminding me that she had almost made it out of med school and could take care of the wound herself. She had medical supplies in her apartment and it wasn't that big of a deal. She went on to further explain something about adrenaline and pain and then finally finishing off with needing an extra pair of hands.

"Bo, it's nothing. Besides, my apartment is closer. If it makes you feel any better, you can help me yourself and I'll talk you through the dressing."

_Damn her and her stubbornness. _

* * *

After dropping myself, Lauren and Mike at their apartment, Hale, Dyson and Kenz make their way to the crack shack to take a look at the footage while I stay behind to help Lauren with her wound. After about ten minutes of watching my attempts at removing the bullet lodged in Lauren's arm and dressing the wound, Mike gets up from the couch and makes his way to bed taking his souvenir with him.

"Night lovelies, don't do anything I wouldn't," he says with a cheeky wink.

"G'night," we both say not really looking at him.

"Just a graze huh?" Putting on the final touches to my shoddy attempt, I sit back to watch the blonde.

"It's not that bad. Besides, you did a great job," turning her arm to survey my work she gives me two thumbs up. Rolling my eyes at her, I tuck one leg under myself and lean my back up against the arm of the sofa, getting comfortable.

"If I remember correctly, you owe me a bedtime story. What _**was**_ that back there?"

Turning to face me, mirroring my position, Lauren starts to tell me what she had planned.

"Well, when you were in the office with Trick, I started to think of ways we could get that footage. My plan was for us to distract Vex while I sent Mike to go looking for the surveillance room and download the footage. I also needed to think of a plan B incase Vex did what he did tonight. I had the people down at the lab send me a sedative in a syringe that I could hide in my skirt without detection."

"And the handcuffs?"

"Those required a lot of maneuvering but they fit. The only thing I didn't plan on was Kenzi. I remembered you telling me that she was good with computers so I told Mike to let Kenz do the downloading while he stood guard. Guess it was a good thing she tagged along."

"How'd you manage to sedate Vex so quickly though? And I gotta admit, that was some pretty kick ass moves you pulled back there."

"Oh…uhm it's just a few things I picked up from the force here and there," she shrugs.

If I was honest with myself, I was glad at least one of us had a plan. I really was starting to get used to this having a partner thing. Looking back on things, had I been by myself, things could've turned ugly quickly. I probably would've left that building without the footage I needed.

"Lauren?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks…for coming up with a plan. I didn't exactly think about how we were going to pull this off to be honest with you," I look down at my hands feeling a little silly.

"You're going through a lot Bo. I get it. How to get security footage is hardly at the top of your priority list I'm sure. That's where I come in. What with Taft, your mom and now Trick, you don't always have to carry that burden. Speaking of, do you want to talk about it now?"

There it was, the dreaded talk. But I knew that I'd eventually have to talk about it.

"I don't know where to start."

"The beginning is a good place," smiling at me and taking my hand in hers, I relax a little.

Right up into my teenage years I had been moved from one foster home to the other. The only piece of information I had about myself was that I had been left on the doorstep with no letter or any clue as to where I was from. My last foster mom, Mary, treated me as her own. I came close to being adopted once, but on the day the adoption was to be finalized, they said they decided against it. No explanation.

I was never rebellious or troublesome and I never really knew the real reasons why no one ever wanted to adopt me. When I hit puberty, adoption became more difficult. It was always the fathers who were more than a little eager to take me in though. When I turned 18, I left. I started out working in a few bartending jobs before I decided to take up training in the force. My grades weren't top notch but I did well enough to get into the academy and as it turned out, I was good at being a cop.

Along the way I met Kenzi in my first year as a homicide detective. I was on the job as an undercover bartender, go figure and one guy had come in, spiked her drink and I followed them. I saved her that night and we'd been stuck at the hip since. That's also when I met Trick. He introduced me and took me under his wing. He was one of my mentors.

I also met Aoife while on the job. In fact, I had been the one to arrest her for breaking and entering. She broke into the Crack Shack and was baking cookies when I arrived home, saying things like 'Hi sweetie, I'm your mom' and 'We need to have some bonding time'. That wasn't exactly how I pictured my first mother/daughter reunion. When Trick got word of the arrest he told me to let her go. I never asked questions then. He told me Aoife was in fact my mother and that her records were clean. At least that's what he told me.

Those few years that I got to know her, I found that we were almost complete opposites. The only thing I seemed to have inherited were her physical features. She spoke nothing of previous family ties and was especially tight lipped about my father. Whenever I asked it was always one excuse after the other or she just brushed it off saying she didn't want to talk about him. She was never around long enough either for me to get to know her on a more personal level. In some ways I was glad, but I still have that hope that maybe one day I'll know everything. I never pushed the issue of why she decided to tell me who she was when she popped up that day.

"…so after I yelled at her to get out of my house, she left. It was the last thing I said to her before…before all of this," I finish looking away from Lauren.

"Imagine that huh? Telling your mother you hate her for leaving you and giving her no chance to make it up to you, just to have some psychopath snatch her," gritting my teeth, I can't help but hate myself. I blame myself for not giving her that second chance when she asked me. I wish I had just agreed to let her stay the night.

"It's not your fault Bo. This thing with Taft has been an ongoing feat. Taft just happened to find out valuable information and is using it to get to you. You were dragged into the game due to lies. Had you known from the beginning about Taft and Aoife's relationship, a lot of things could have been avoided. There's a lot of blame to go around Bo, but don't think for a minute that this is all your fault!"

Turning to face Lauren again, I can see the purpose in her eyes. She's right. I guess if there's one good thing out of this, it's Lauren. For some reason, previous partners never worked out, but with Lauren, it's different. Right from the start I felt that connection to her. Sure, maybe it was the alcohol talking then, but the moment I laid eyes on her, something clicked.

"So, what are you going to do with Trick?"

Sighing I look past her to stare at the wall.

"I don't know," I admit truthfully. "I'm still mad it him, but right now, I need to concentrate on more important things."

"Whatever you decide Bo, tell me. I'm here as your partner. Like I said the other day, don't push me away. I'm here to help."

"I'm scared I'll be putting you in too much danger…"

"You know as well as I do that this job is dangerous," she counters.

"I know…I just…Idontwanttoloseyou…" I mumble incoherently.

"You wah?"

Taking a deep breath and gathering what courage I had left, I look her right in the eyes. I know that I have to tell her now before I chicken out.

"I don't want to lose you Lauren. I know that I've only known you for a really short time but I just…I'm not going to lie to you. I can't explain it, but I don't want to lose you. I don't want you to get caught up in a game that even I can't seem to be handling right now. I protect the people I care about and you're quickly becoming one of them. That's why I yelled at you the other day."

_There it is. Wasn't too hard. Now breathe…_

Her gaze softens at my words. Moving forward, she cups my cheek with her right hand. I close my eyes and lean into her touch.

"I'm not going anywhere. We'll find Aoife and get Taft. I promise," opening my eyes again, I watch as her eyes drop to my lips. Licking my suddenly dry lips, I watch her gaze move back up to my eyes. Leaning in, eyes closed, our lips barely brush against each other. Pulling back, I search Lauren's eyes, making sure it's all right. When she nods, I place a hand behind her neck and pull her towards me, bringing our lips together in a hungry kiss. A light moan escapes my lips when I feel her tongue enter my mouth.

_So much better than Dyson…_

"Shit! Dyson!" Breaking the kiss, I look at Lauren, realization crossing my features. Trying to will my breathing and heartbeat to return back to normal, I watch as confusion is written all over Lauren's face.

"Lauren, I'm so sorry…I...I…"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

"What? **NO!** No…don't be sorry. To be honest, I wanted to do that earlier, but, I just…I don't want to complicate things right now Lauren. I'm attracted to you. A lot. Dyson and I have a lot of unresolved shit to talk about."

"Oh…" my heart breaks a little when I watch her shoulders sag and her head drop. Tilting her head up to look at her, I lean forward until my forehead touches hers.

"I don't want to mess up what we have the way I did with Dyson. I want to do the right thing. As much as I would **LOVE **to see where this is going to go, it's not fair on you. I don't want to end up hurting you…" I whisper, my eyes searching hers pleadingly.

I hate that I brought him up, but I know I'm not ready to start something with Lauren. Not yet. Not when Dyson and I still have unfinished business and I promised him a talk. Before anything happens with Lauren, I need to sort myself out. I need to be fair to Lauren. I know that if something happened now, I can't guarantee that my actions in the morning will be to Lauren's liking. I don't want to hurt her.

Sighing, she closes her eyes but doesn't pull away from me.

"Okay…" she whispers. "I understand. I know you need to sort out your shit. You know where to find me when you finally make your decision, but Bo…I can't wait forever. I don't want to be waiting in the shadows for you if you decide to start things with Dyson again," opening her eyes I can see the seriousness in her eyes.

With a final chaste kiss, she pulls back completely wincing when bumps her left arm against the back of the sofa.

"Ow. Fuck! I guess a sleeveless halter wasn't such a bright idea huh?" she says gritting her teeth, but not without a slight smirk appearing on her lips again.

"I don't know. It shows those guns of yours off pretty well," I say gesturing to her arms. Once again, I'm thankful for the lack of tension in the air. I know that this could have turned out much worse than what it did. Thanking my lucky starts I welcome the return of our light flirtatious banter.

"Do you know what I hate?" I ask her, a small smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

"What's that?"

"The fact that our dance was cut way too short! Right when I was starting to get my groove on too," shaking my head and tutting for effect I roll my eyes at her playfully.

"Oh please, that song is my jam!" she says winking at me. We both start laughing now, welcoming the change in atmosphere.

"Don't tell Kenzi that, she'll probably challenge you to a dance battle and she'll do it in five inch stiletto's to prove it," I tell her when we finally stop laughing. The buzzing of a phone interrupts the comfortable silence enveloping the room. Looking at the coffee table, I see Kenzi's face lighting up my phone screen. Answering the phone and putting it on speaker for Lauren to hear, I place it between us on the couch.

"Kenz? What's up?"

"Bobo, you're not gonna believe this. Talk about a shit storm, seriously."

"Kenz…"

"Oh yeah…I think we know who Taft's accomplice is…"

"I'm not in the mood to be patient Kenz."

"But patience is a vir—,"

"KENZI!" Lauren and I say together.

"All right, all right. Sheesh, calm your farm, to thing this is what I get…" in the background I hear shuffling of paper and movement. I roll my eyes and continue to wait.

"It's Jason. Jason's Taft's accomplice."


	10. Chapter 10: Love until we bleed

**A/N:** I'm back! I'm so sorry about the super late update. Life/Work/Uni got in my way. To those of you still following and hanging in there, THANK YOU! All the reviews are lovely as always. I swear I didn't forget about this story. Hopefully the length of the chapter will make up for the lack of updates. This chapter was actually a lot more difficult to write. Writing action just isn't my forte. I hope hope hope that you guys can sort of imagine what happens the way I describe it.

Now about that wound, it was originally going to be a graze, but I changed my mind. I wanted it to make it sound like Lauren was trying to be a hard ass to try and avoid going to the hospital when she said it was 'just a graze'. I tried to convey that through Bo's sarcastic remark about it just being a graze. I know that kind of procedure does need to be taken care of professionally. I wasn't going to leave it that way. It does come back later in this chapter, patched up professionally of course. There will be a reason for a trip to the hospital and that wound problem will be taken care of. Thank you to whomever it was that pointed it out :) I had a feeling someone would. I'm not too sure if that really answered your questions but I hope I sort of did.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 10 – Love until we bleed. **

Hanging up the phone, I sit there in stunned silence. Jason…Rookie Jason. Jason who let us into Vex's club Jason. All this time and it's been someone from the inside. Jason had been on the force for about seven months now. He is ambitious and works hard. The kid has potential.

_How the hell did this kid get mixed up with Taft?_

The sound of a wince brings me back out of my train of thought. Once again, Lauren is gingerly clutching at her arm. She looks a little paler than before.

"Lauren, are you okay?"

"Me? Yes, of course. Nothing I can't handle," she replies a tight smile on her lips.

"Maybe we should've just gone to a hospital…"

"No. I'm fine. Really. I just need some painkillers and I'll be right," getting up from the couch, she makes her way into the kitchen. I watch her silently as she downs two pills with a glass of water. Just as her glass hits the surface of the sink, my phone starts ringing again. It's Dyson.

"What is it Dyson?"

"What's your plan?"

_Good question, I haven't thought of one yet. _

"Uhm…"

Making her way back to the sofa, Lauren holds her hand out gesturing for me to give her the phone. Handing it to her, she puts it on speaker and places it back on the coffee table, taking her seat on the sofa again.

"We have to go after him," I say absentmindedly, staring at the phone.

I feel Lauren shifting to face me, eyebrow raised.

"Bo, he could be anywhere at the moment, how do we know that he doesn't already know we're on to him? Like you said, Taft is a smart man, I'm pretty sure he's got Jason on a tight leash. Jason's also a cop, I'm pretty sure even he's not that stupid."

_Good point. _

For all we know, his whole reason for letting us into the club was to get rid of us. I guess I should've known there was a reason why Vex found us out so quickly. Then again, Jason told me he was out on a stag do. He could be blind drunk. Tonight would be the perfect opportunity to search his apartment. Maybe find some clues to Taft's whereabouts.

"Jason's apartment, we have to go search his place."

From the phone on the table I can hear shuffling and a loud 'Hey' from a disgruntled Kenzi in the background.

"Bo, we can't just search his apartment, we need a warrant for that! Not to mention, what makes you think he's not there waiting for us? For all we know he—"

"Lauren, we have to _**do**_ something. The faster we find something, the quicker we can find my mom. I know we're breaking the rules, but sometimes, rules are meant to be broken! Please!" I say cutting her off.

For a moment, it's silent, only the sound of our breathing. I watch as Lauren studies me. I can practically see the war that's raging in her head. In the end she simply nods and turns back to the cellphone.

"Dyson, you know where Jason lives, right?" I ask again, silently relieved at Lauren's response.

"Of course."

"Okay, pick us up, we'll need the two of you as a look out. Can you bring my gun too? I feel kind of naked without it."

"Okay," he says simply.

"Okay?" I ask, surprise evident in my voice.

"Yes Bo, okay. I'm giving up arguing with you because I know how stubborn you are. Given the circumstances, I doubt you'll listen to anything I say," he sounds slightly defeated. "Be ready, we'll be there in about five minutes," with that the line goes quiet as he ends the call.

"I'm coming with you," I hear from the top of the stairs. Lauren and I both turn towards Mike making his way down the stairs in the process of pulling on a shirt. I didn't expect him to be so…sober. Thought he and his bottle were done for the night.

"No Mike, you're staying here. I won't have you tagging along. It's too dangerous," Lauren says standing up and making her way over to her brother just as he reaches the bottom of the stairs. "Tonight was a close call, I never should've let you be a part of this."

"I'm not a little kid anymore Laur, I'm a big boy. Besides I can't sleep and what happened earlier was EPIC! Kinda wanna get in on the action again," he says attacking the air like he's fighting someone.

"No. The fact that you just used the word 'Epic' to describe what happened just further proves you're still a boy. I'm going to change. Go back to bed Mike, this isn't up for discussion," with that, Lauren quickly brushes past her brother, up the stairs and into her room.

"She's right Mike, she's just trying to protect you," I tell him softly.

I watch as Mike makes his way to the couch, plopping down next to me. He really is a good-looking guy. I guess the good looks run in the family. He studies me for a while and it's not long before I break eye contact with him. The way he looks at me reminds me too much of Lauren. I lean back against the couch.

"I see the way you both look at each other. You like her don't you?" He asks quietly. I sit up again and slowly turn to fully face him. He's sitting there with his back against the arm of the sofa, arms folded, with a serious look on his face.

I open my mouth to say something and close it again. I try again and fail miserably. I'm at a loss for words. Not long before this, I admitted to Lauren that I'm attracted to her and here, her brother is asking me point blank whether or not I like her and I'm making fish faces at him. I guess I didn't think I was that obvious with my ogling.

Slowly a small grin starts to tug at the corner of his lips. He can see the internal struggle I'm having. The longer the silence grows the wider his grin gets. As it fades, his expression turns serious again.

"Just…take care of her okay? I worry about her…a lot. Ever since the—…" He stops himself then. I wonder what he wants to say. I bite my lip to stop myself from asking what happened.

_Ever since the what?_

"Laur throws herself into her work and on top of that she has to look after my ass. She's my only sister and, well, things weren't exactly great back home. I've never been the easiest person to look after. It's part of the reason why we came here. Clean slate and all."

I continue to sit there in silence. I don't exactly know what to say. At the same time, I can see that Mike really cares for Lauren. Aside from the light banter and mocking, deep down, I know Mike would go to the ends of the world to keep his sister safe, as would she. Taking his hand in mine, I look him straight in the eye.

"I'll make sure she's safe. I promise," I whisper to him, sincerity evident in my voice. I surprise even myself at how sincere it sounds.

I quickly drop his hand at the sound of Lauren's bedroom door opening and closing. I watch her make her way quickly down the stairs. She's changed out of her dress and is wearing dark blue skinny jeans and a dark grey hoodie, her shoulder holster just visible under it.

"I thought maybe you might want to get out of that dress. I left some sweat pants and a hoodie on my bed. I know it's not leather, but it's the best I can do," she says giving me a lopsided grin. "I also have a pair of sneakers you can borrow, I left them by the door."

Standing I gently brush past her, whispering a quiet 'Thanks'. I don't miss the widening of her grin as I pass her and make my way up the stairs.

* * *

Just before we round the corner onto Jason's street, Dyson dims the lights. When we pull up to a flickering street light, I survey the area. The street looks like the perfect nesting ground for crime. There were a few abandoned buildings with broken windows and graffiti. An apartment block that looks run down, have a few occupants gathered around a table. Thankfully, all they do is look up at our approaching vehicle and go back to whatever it is they're doing. I feel a little uneasy being here. This isn't looking like much of a great idea anymore. Before I can say something, Dyson turns the van into what looks to be a darkened alleyway. He stops right in front of a set of stairs. They're barely lit by a light attached to the side of the building.

"He lives in there. Just up those stairs and turn right. Hale and I will be parked out by the street. Any sign of trouble you get out as quickly as you can. I'll call you if I see Jason."

I nod at Dyson's instructions. Sliding the van door open, I hop out with Lauren right behind me. The entire ride here she hasn't said a thing. Just as I pass by the driver's side, a hand on my arm stops me. Turning my head towards Dyson, I lock eyes with him

"Be careful Bo…" he says stroking my arm. Glancing back at Lauren, her face is trained forward, her jaw set. Stepping away from Dyson's touch, I simply nod at him and continue up the stairs. As I watch the van back out of the alleyway again, my hand automatically moves to where my gun is.

When we reach the top of the stairs, we find the door already open. I frown at Lauren, reaching into my holster I pull out my gun. Lauren does the same, she hisses a little at the movement. We take the stairs leading up to the second floor, guns at the ready. When we get to Jason's door, I reach out for the doorknob, twisting it, the door opens easily. No sign of forced entry. With our guns both leading us we make our way into Jason's place. The lights are off, but the lights from outside give enough light to illuminate the room from the open curtains of the windows. As I move further into what looks to be the lounge, I whisper to Lauren that it's clear. She in turn signals the all clear after peeking into what looks to be Jason's bedroom.

There doesn't seem to be much. It's a small place. Kitchen, living room and dining room, open living. Only doors visible is the bedroom and what I assume is the bathroom. Lowering my gun I survey the place, I spot a desk in one corner piled with what look to be case files. Walking over to it, I feel Lauren move over to where the dining table is.

"He probably forgot to lock the door," I say quietly not really sounding too confident. I slowly start to sift through the files. I'm right about them being case files. They're copies of the case files that we're working on.

_Bastard. Should've known something was up when he was hanging around Dyson's desk._

"Find anything?"

Startled and grabbing my gun again, I point it in the direction of the voice. To my surprise I see Kenzi, a wide smile spread across her face, coming out of Jason's room. Behind her is Mike.

"What the FUCK you guys?! What are you doing here?" I manage through gritted teeth, narrowing my eyes at them and lowering my gun. My eyes follow Kenzi as she crosses the room to where Lauren is. Even in the dim light, I can see Lauren attempting to take calming breaths.

"How's the arm Hotpants?" Kenzi asks casually like she's asking about the weather.

"I told you to go back to bed Michael!" the blonde aims at Mike.

"Aw come on sis, I just wanna little adventure," he replies moving over to where Lauren is and patting her on her wounded arm.

"FUCK!" Lauren gasps.

"Oh shit! Sorry Laur, I forg—"

"You both need to get the fuck out of here! It's dangerous for the both of you! How the hell did you get in here anyway?" I demand getting even more annoyed with Kenzi and Mike.

"Ooo…apple," taking a bite out of the apple, Kenzi looks over at me, chewing slowly, swallowing and then answering. "Have you forgotten about my risqué days Bo-bo? You know I'm Jedi Kenzi when it comes to opening locked doors. Mikey and I decided we'd like in on the action. What took you guys so long to get here anyways? We've been here for yonks."

"_**NOT**_ funny! This isn't a game you guys. You're both getting your asses out of here before Jason gets back!" I say, moving towards Kenzi and Mike to try and usher them out.

"Oh so you don't want to know about the pretty little project that your boy Jason has in his closet? Talk about some creepy ass shit!"

"What project?"

Tossing the half eaten apple in the trash, Kenzi's smile appears again.

"Thought you'd never ask. Follow me."

"How did you two get here so quickly anyway?"

"Well, apparently Mikey here knows all the short cuts. That alleyway has a gate by the dumpster. When we got here, we saw you guys weren't here so we decided to give you a head start on things here. We heard a noise so we hid in the closet, only it's not a closet…it's…you'll see," with that she opens the door to the closet.

"What the hell…" I hear from Lauren directly behind me.

She stole the words right out of my mouth. Stepping into the closet, I scan the room. On the walls are pictures of the victims. There are pictures of them walking out of their homes, entering a café, sitting around friends and more. Jason stalked these girls. Making my way to the desk in the corner, I find a list of names. There are four names, the last two victims, with a line drawn across them and then Terri Hart and Vickie Tavistock. My body goes rigid when I see the last two names at the bottom of the list highlighted in bold, Aoife and mine.

"Hey Bo, isn't that your mom?"

Tucking the list into my pocket I make my way over to where Kenz and the others are. Looking over Lauren's shoulder I gasp aloud, there on the screen is Aoife, curled up into a fetal position. Barely able to recognize her, the only thing that gives her away is the bracelet on her wrist. I had given it to her as a present a year ago. I never believed that she ever wore it until now.

"How sick is that? He has her under surveillance," I hear Mike whisper.

My eyes automatically start searching for anything familiar surrounding her that could give away her whereabouts but all I can see is bits and pieces along with a window just above her. The only light is the one surrounding my mother. As if reading my mind, Lauren asks me whether or not I notice anything familiar about the room.

"No," I reply shaking my head. "Nothing."

"Well, well, well…what've we got here?"

At the sound of Jason's voice we all whip our heads around, Lauren and I both drawing our guns.

"Tsk, tsk Detectives, I suggest you both put those things away before someone gets hurt."

"There's one of you and four of us," I say with my finger on the trigger.

"Don't be so sure. Guys?" Behind him two more guys show up, guns drawn.

_Great…three to two. Fuck._

Looking over at Lauren, we both nod in agreement and lower our guns, placing it on the ground and kicking it to the side.

"I thought you'd see it my way," he says moving further into the room, his own gun pointed straight at me.

"How do you like my little studio Detective? Homey don't you think?"

"You're a sick asshole is what I think!" I hiss back at him.

Moving to where we had been just minutes before, the smug smirk that appears on his face makes me want to punch him in the face.

"Your mothers very photogenic Bo, don't you think? You know, after I heard about your little escape earlier at Vex's, I just thought it'd be a wise choice to get me some back up. Boy was I right. 'Always be prepared' that's what you taught me Detective. Now if you could be so kind as to give me back that footage. You see…I quite like my job. Being exposed as Taft's right hand can put a damper on someone's career and we wouldn't want that now would we?"

"Fuck you! How could you?! Taft is just using you. He's a fucking psycho!"

"Easy…Taft is a genius. His work is a piece of art! Those women deserve what they got. Each. And every. One. Of them." With the last few words, he starts switching on lights. To my horror, more pictures of the last two girls mutilated bodies appear on his wall.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," I hear Kenzi say not failing to stop herself from making gagging noises.

"I think Taft will be pleased that I managed to get you sooner rather than later. Soon, you'll be replacing your whore of a mother in there. That will teach you all for rejecting us."

"All of this because you were rejected? You must have some real self esteem issues," Lauren says to him, her voice bitter.

Walking towards Lauren, he doesn't stop until he's right behind her, gun pointed against her lower back and pulling her head back by her hair. I can only watch as she winces in pain.

"NO!" Mike and I both yell out in unison.

"Don't even think about taking another step monkey boy, otherwise your sister gets it." To emphasize his point, he digs the gun further into Lauren's back and tugging at her hair again.

"Leave her alone. Take me instead. I'm here, just let her and everyone else go." I demand.

"I'm not leaving you Bo," Lauren says.

"Oh how romantic," Jason sneers, turning Lauren to face me. "Look Bo, look at this face…think Taft would love to have her added to the list."

"I won't let that happen," I say fiercely, clenching my fits. "Dyson and Hale are parked out front, they're going to notice how long we've been in here."

"Really now? Well, it's a shame, guess we better hurry then shan't we boys?" That cocky smirk on his face just keeps getting wider.

_Come on Dyson, before Christmas would be nice!_

"You know something Jason? You fucken talk too much," Lauren, breathes out. Suddenly, like in Vex's club, things are happening all too quickly. Out of the blue, Lauren manages to get herself out of Jason's hold, spin herself around and deliver a good hard kick right to his midsection. Jason's goons also seem to be taken by surprise as they stand there watching as he falls backward onto the desk.

Thinking quickly, I dive onto the floor to retrieve my gun. Just as my body hits the floor, the sound of another body crashing to the ground catches my attention. When I straighten again, I can see Mike on top of one goon, trying to wrestle the gun out of his hand. Kenzi is with Lauren who is now clutching at her injured arm. That just left me with the other guy. Luckily for me, he looks too preoccupied with the scene in front of him to notice me. Ceasing the opportunity, I run full speed at him, tackling the guy to the ground. Quickly straddling him, I deliver a swift hard swipe to the head with the butt of my gun, knocking the guy out.

"BO LOOK OUT!" I hear Kenzi call out.

Suddenly, everything is moving in slow motion. When I finally realize what's going on, it's too late. Jason had recovered from his attack and is now on his feet, gun pointed directly at me. All I can remember is the sound of a gunshot ringing through the air. Then, there is a scream and the image of a body falling heavily to the ground in front of me, another gunshot, some footsteps and then Dyson and Hale's voices quickly follow it. As time reverts to normal speed again, I watch helplessly as Dyson and Hale escort both Jason and the other guy that Mike had been wrestling with outside. Getting up off the guy I'm still sitting on, my eyes finally land on Lauren hunched over someone's body. It's a few moments before I realize who it is.

"Mike? Mike, can you hear me? Come on Mikey…" I hear Lauren say softly. Dropping to my knees, on Mike's other side; I scan his body to survey the damage. I watch in horror as blood slowly begins to seep through Lauren's fingers as her hands apply pressure to Mike's midsection. When my eyes find their way back to his face, his eyes are slowly opening.

"H-hey…that was pretty badass huh?" He asks weakly.

"You'll be okay Mike, don't move. Just…just hang in there." I can only sit there as I watch the scene in front of me.

"It's cool sis, it's just a s-scratch."

"You're a right asshole you know that Mikey? You were supposed to stay home!"

"W-well, I couldn't let y-you have all the fun," Mike barely manages to get out, his breath catching in his throat as he attempts to breath normally. "Y-you know I l-love you right, Laur?"

"Michael, don't say shit like that. You're going to be fine. Keep talking to me Mike, the ambulance should be here soon!" Lauren retorts sharply.

"D-do you remember when Mom and Dad used t-to take us o-on those long r-road trips? How we'd f-fight and Dad w-would threaten t-to make one o-of us walk if we didn't behave?"

"Of course, you always started them just because you liked to push his buttons. Not to mention how red his face always got when he got angry. When he'd yell, we knew shit was about to get real when 'Stop it…or else! Michael, you're skating on thin ice,' came out of his mouth." A small little chuckle escapes from Lauren's mouth as she continues watch her brother, smiling down at him as her eyes slowly start to glaze over with tears.

"I'm l-lucky to have y-y-you as an old-d-der sister, L-Lobster L-Lauren."

"Mike, you…you have to hold on. Please! I…I can't lose you too…Please Mike, just…" Lauren whispers fiercely unable to finish her sentence.

My heart breaks as I continue to watch the exchange. Mike's shaking hand slowly makes it's way up to his sisters cheek, catching a stray tear that escapes from the corner of Lauren's eye. Bringing up her own blood stained hand she covers her brother's hand with her own.

"It's s-so c-cold…"

"Mike…please…"

Lauren's tears are falling freely now. Her grip on her brothers hand tight.

"I l-love y-you, Laur. T-tell mom I love her t-too…"

Mike slowly tilts his head to face me, a huge smile plastered on his face.

"N-not you t-too. I c-can't handle crying."

Bringing my hand up to my face, I find my cheeks wet with my own tears. I can't help but smile at him. "I…I just have something in my eye," I say, reaching out to place a hand on his arm. Just then, the sounds of multiple footsteps enter the room. Several officers and four EMTs quickly surround us. Two EMTs spot us on the floor and quickly make their way over to us.

"We'll take it from here Detectives." One of them gestures to us.

Before I can stand up, Mike grabs my forearm.

"Your p-promise…" he says to me.

"I promise Mike."

"Ma'am, please, we'll take it from here."

* * *

After exiting Jason's place, it was surrounded by a few more officers and Trick. Lauren insisted on riding in the ambulance with her brother while I talk to Trick. After getting an earful from Trick, I look around trying to find Kenzi, Hale or Dyson. When I find Kenzi, she's wrapped up in Hale's arms crying. Spotting me over his shoulder she lets go and runs over to me wrapping me in a tight bear hug. When we pull apart, Kenz gives me a big smile and tells me it's a good thing she wore waterproof mascara before her face turns serious.

"Bo…I'm sorry. Mike and I never should have come here, but…"

"We'll talk about it later Kenz. Lauren needs us."

Moving over to Hale I ask him where Dyson is.

"He's over at the station, putting Jason in lock up. He says he'll wait for you and Lauren to interrogate Jason." I simply nod and ask him to give Kenzi and I a ride to the hospital.

On the ride over, I ask Kenzi what exactly happened. She told me that Mike had seen Jason get up and point the gun at me. Freeing himself from the guy he was wrestling with, he ran and jumped in front of me just in time for the gun to go off. Just when Jason was about to try again, Dyson and Hale got there. They managed to shoot him in the leg causing him to drop the gun before running in to arrest him. There were also another two officers following closely behind them who managed to grab the other two guys while Lauren and I were with Mike. Kenz had snuck out telling me that she didn't want to overcrowd him. What she really meant was, she didn't want to break down in front of Mike.

I asked myself briefly how I managed to miss what had been going on behind me. One thing was clear though:

Mike saved my life and this is entirely my fault. If I had just taken Lauren's advice to wait for that search warrant, this never would have happened.

_What had we accomplished from this? Nothing. _

"Bo… I know what you're think and it's not your fault." Kenzi says wrapping her arm around me pulling me out of my train of thought, giving me a gentle squeeze.

"But it _**is**_ my fault Kenz! I never should have suggested snooping around his place. I put all of you in danger and now someone is fighting for their life because I didn't stop to think about the consequences. Kenz, I don't think Lauren will ever forgive me if her brother dies! I don't think I could forgive _**myself**_."

My body is trembling and I start to cry, the stress of the day's events catching up with me. I'm tired, I ache and I just want to go home and sleep until next year.

"I told you Bo, it was more my fault than yours. _**I **_had been the one that called Mike. _**I **_was the one that told him we should check it out. _**I **_broke into that place. It's all _**my **_faultBo and I'm sorry…I'm so so sorry…" Kenzi's voice fades as she starts to break down. Pulling her into a tight hug, I let her cry for a bit. We break apart when we start to feel the van slowing as we approach the hospital.

"Ladies okay back there?" Hale says gently turning to face us after killing the engine.

"Turn around Hale, I don't want you to see me like this…" Kenz sniffles as she tries to cover her face.

"Aw come on 'Lil mama, you were just slobbering all over me back at Jason's and now you're telling me not to look?"

"Turn!" she counters.

Sighing he opens his door and steps out and not before mumbling a not so quiet, 'women' under his breath. I roll my eyes at their exchange.

"Okay, any bats in the cave?" Even in the midst of chaos, Kenzi can still bring a smile to my face.

"Kenzi! Ew!"

"Kidding, kidding, let's go."

When we find Lauren, she's in the waiting room pacing black and forth. Her hands free of blood but her blood stained jeans remind me of why we're here in the first place. In her arms she's holding her grey hoodie leaving her in a bloodstained white tank top. Her injured arm now looks to have new dressing, which gives me a slight sense of relief. I'm pretty sure whoever patched that up did a much better job than I did.

_Which is why you never became a doctor in the first place dumbass._

Shaking my head from my thoughts, I gaze over at Kenzi who seems to be just as hesitant to approach just as I am.

"Kenz," I whisper, sensing her discomfort. "Why don't you go with Hale and get us some coffee from Rosie's? The coffee here stinks."

Like me, I have a feeling she's beating herself up over what happened tonight. Her going would also give me time to talk to Lauren alone. Giving me a slight nod, the little brunette makes a quick exit. For another minute or two, I continue to watch Lauren before finally deciding to approach her. The sound of my footsteps catches her attention as she looks up from her pacing.

"Hey…how is he?" I'm seriously fighting the urge to just go over to her, wrap my arms around her and tell her that everything will be okay. So instead, I opt for shoving my hands into the hoodie pockets and leaning my back up against the wall opposite to the blonde. Finally sitting in the seat closest to her, she brings her knees up to her body, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"I um…I don't know much. He lost a lot of blood on the way here…he's with the doctors…" Lauren makes no eye contact with me as she stares at the floor. For a moment there's silence. Not really knowing where to start. Gathering up some courage, I slowly walk over to her. Stopping in front of her, I slowly unclasp her hands from around her knees, taking them in mine and crouching down, looking up into her face. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. My heart sinks a little and I worry that she might not want to talk to me.

"Lauren, sweetie. Look at me…please?" Bringing my hand up to her face, I gently cup her cheek. When she finally opens her eyes, my heart gives a painful tug at the sight of her eyes filled with tears. "I…I don't really know what to say except, I'm so, soooo so sorry about what happened tonight Lauren. It never should've happened."

For some reason I have the strangest urge to hold her and kiss away her tears.

_Wait. What?_

Instead, with my thumb I wipe away a stray tear that escapes from the corner of her eye.

"What went down tonight was because of my stupidity. Of my impatience. I should've have waited to get that warrant like you suggested. I just…it's all my fault Lauren and I'm sorry…" I trail off no longer sure of how to continue.

"Lauren…please say something," I say after a long moments silence, lowering my hand from her cheek and grabbing her other hand again.

Breaking eye contact with me, she looks away for a moment before meeting my eyes again.

"Do you know, sometimes I feel like I'm the one responsible for my brothers mistakes? Every time Mike gets mixed up in something bad, it's all my fault?"

I can only nod and wait for her to continue.

"Throughout the years I'm always bailing him out, protecting him or looking after him. Ever since…what happened back home, he's been doing well. Keeping out of trouble, getting his life on track and following his dreams. I thought that moving here to start fresh was the best option for us and it was. Mike knows how to push all the right buttons to irritate the hell out of me. He's my brother… but Bo…if…if I lose Mike now, it would've all been for nothing. I don't know if I could do any of this without him."

Standing up, I take Lauren with me, pulling her into a hug. I can't help how right it feels to have her in my arms. Pulling back from the hug, I take her hands in mine again.

"I'm here for you Lauren. You're not alone in this. You stood by me when you didn't need to and now; I want you to know that I'm here for you. We'll get through this together. He saved my life tonight and I owe him. Mike will make it through. If he's anything like his older sister, he'll come out of this just fine. Before you know it he'll be back to pushing all your buttons again."

My insides melt a little when I see a small smile appear on her face.

"Just so you know, this is the most committed I've ever been with anyone this early in a relationship, so you should feel special you know," I joke giving her a cheeky wink.

"Are you saying this is a relationship?"

"Mmm…" I say before my phone ringing interrupts me.

"Yes Dyson…what's up?"

"How is he?"

As I sit down, Lauren follows suit, watching me closely.

"He's in surgery at the moment. How's your boy?"

"In pain but he'll live. Did Hale tell you that I'm leaving the interrogation to you and Lauren?"

"He did. Thanks for that."

"I know you want to be the first to break him, so I thought it best to give you both first choice."

"Thanks again Dy. I'll talk to Lauren about it now. Bye."

Hanging up the phone, I place it back into the hoodie pocket.

"That was Dyson. He has Jason in holding but he left the interrogating to us if you're up for it?"

Watching Lauren closely, she seems to be contemplating something. It takes her a long while before she answers.

"You and Dyson can do it."

Raising my eyebrow at her questioningly, she continues.

"The fact that you're here now is more than I could ever ask for Bo. I know that you want to find your mom, but you being here isn't going to get you any closer to finding her than if you're there questioning Jason right now. Besides, I don't think I'm in the right state to question him. I can't guarantee that I'll walk out of that interrogation room without being charged for murder. I need to be here."

Just at that moment the sound of approaching footsteps causes the both of us to look up. It's Kenzi and Hale with coffee.

"Special delivery," Hale says handing us our cups.

"Thanks," Lauren and I both utter before taking a small but welcome sip of coffee.

"Any news?" Kenzi asks sitting down next to me.

I shake my head before asking Lauren whether she's alright with me going. She nods and tells me that if any news comes up, she'll call me straight away. After telling Kenzi where I'm going, she offers to stay at the hospital with Lauren to keep her company. Bidding them a quick farewell, Hale and I make our way out.

"Bo?" I stop in my tracks and face Lauren. "Thank you."

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay to do this tonight?"

Standing outside the interrogation room I ask myself the same question.

_**Am **__I ready for this?_

I think back to what Lauren said about not being able to walk out of the room without having murdered Jason. I knew that as much as I would love to do just that, I knew I needed to get to Taft somehow. Killing Jason wasn't the right way to go about it.

Looking up at Dyson, I simply nod. Opening the door, I follow him in. Jason doesn't look up; he just stares at the two-way mirror in front of him. Dyson takes a seat across from him, but I opt to stay standing away in the far corner, away from the temptation. Folding my arms in front of me, I stand back and listen to Dyson question Jason.

"What a shame, surely I thought Detective Lewis was going to be here. No offence D-Man, but you're not gonna be any fun to play with."

I clench my jaw at the smug grin that appears on Jason face. I know that it's nothing compared to what Dyson must be trying to restrain from doing.

"Sorry to disappoint and it's Detective Thornwood to you."

"Oh poo. Why the distance _**Detective**_Dennis? I don't bite." I remain silent not giving him the satisfaction of answering.

"The first two victims," pulling out photos, Dyson lines them out in front of Jason. "Was it rewarding? Seeing them die a slow and painful death? Did you get off watching them being tortured?"

"Filthy whores they were."

"Why did you do it? Little issue with size down there Vickerman? Girl says 'no' so you decide to torture and rape them instead?"

Leaning forward onto his elbows, he eyes out Dyson.

"I bet you've never been rejected by anyone have you Dyson? All the girls are hot for Detective Thornwood. It's always 'Dyson this' or 'Dyson that' or 'OH-EM-GEE he's so sexy' isn't it? All the girls want Dyson at the drop of a hat." Leaning back in the chair again, he looks over to where I stand.

"How does it feel to know that he's fucking half the women in the precinct Detective Dennis?"

"Don't listen to him Bo!" Dyson growls.

"Why, because it's true? Come on D-Man, you and I both know the truth."

"Just answer the question Vickerman." I say through gritted teeth.

"Oh please. Not like you haven't been giving as good as you get. I see the different men and woman you took home Bo. Yet, not even once did you ever consider riding my cock. It's a shame really, your mom enjoys it."

At his words, something inside me snaps. Slamming him up against the wall, I push my forearm up against his throat. **"SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" **

Getting up off of his seat, Dyson places a hand on my shoulder.

"He's not worth it Bo."

Letting him go, I storm out of the room before I completely lose my temper. Walking into the bathroom, I walk up to the sink and run the cold water. Splashing it on my face, I welcome the cold. Drying my face I stare at my reflection in the mirror.

I feel like lately, for every step I take forward, I end up taking another two steps back. The whole thing with Taft just seems to be spiraling out of control. Once again, I feel that I'm to blame for all of this. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I make my way out of the bathroom. Just as I'm about to reach the interrogation room, Dyson exits.

"Any luck?"

"No…he says he won't say anything further until both you and Lauren are in the same room with him."

"If that's what he want's then I'll go in there now." I say reaching out to open the door. Dyson stops me.

"Not now Bo. You and I both know that you're not in the right state of mind to interrogate him. It was very tempting to let you strangle him to death Bo, believe me. It took every ounce of my willpower to stop you. Come on. Let me buy you a drink and then we'll try again tomorrow. Or later on today I guess."

"But Lauren…"

"…will call you if anything happens. Besides, after tonight's events, I think we need to have that talk. Now more than ever."

* * *

The Dal Riata, a regular hangout for cops. A place where we could all let loose and unwind after a hard days work. It helps when the owner is of course your boss…or I guess, my grandfather now. The thought of Trick being my grandfather still irks me. Thankfully the bar isn't so crowded tonight when Dyson and I walk in. Grabbing our drinks, we make our way over to the couch in a secluded area by the bar.

Sitting down on the one-seater couch, I settle on the edge of it, cupping my beer mug in my hands and welcoming the cool surface. Dyson takes up the one across from me. I study him quietly as he swirls the whiskey in his glass the ice making a soft clinking sound.

"Well," he finally says looking over at me from the top of his glass, "what do you want to know?"

Taking a swig out of my beer and placing it on the table, I ask him the one question that's been haunting me since the day he broke it off.

"Why did you leave me Dyson? I want the truth."

For a while he doesn't answer, like he's contemplating what to say. Inwardly I hope that what comes out of his mouth is the truth.

"I don't want to share you." He says simply.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't want to share you with anyone else Bo, that's why I ran okay? You were right. I ran because it was the easy way out and because I didn't know how to deal with it. When you rejected me that night I proposed, I did the next best thing and I ran."

"But why? Why couldn't you just tell me? Why couldn't you just talk to me?!"

"Because I'm a jealous and selfish man Bo. That night when I proposed, I wanted you to say yes because then I knew it'd be official. Once that ring was on your finger, I wanted everyone to know that you were mine and only mine."

"So in other words, I wounded your pride."

"In manner of speaking. When I came back from my soul search, if you will, I was different. I started partying again and seeing other people. I wanted to show you that I could move on without you."

"Instead you decided to flaunt women in front of my face. We hadn't even been broken up two weeks and you start sucking face with a different woman almost every night in front of me. Do you know what it feels like, to have your boyfriend call you from god knows where, telling you that you should see other people? You took the coward's way out Dyson. You hurt me Dy. Like I said, I was in it for the long haul."

"Yes, I realize that now." Hanging his head, I continue before I lose my nerve. So many burning questions, so much to say. I know that now, more than ever, was the best time to let it out.

"You still should have talked to me. Did you really not trust me enough to wait? Did you really think that I would cheat on you Dyson? That's what really hurt me the most. The fact that you think you have to put a ring on it to keep me. I'm not property that can be bought by a nice shiny ring."

"I'm sorry…I really am. I love you Bo. I'm still **IN** love with you."

Sighing, I get up off the couch and take a seat on the end of the couch near Dyson's side. Placing a hand on his knee I look him in the eye. There was a time when I could have gotten lost in those eyes, but now…there was nothing there.

"I love you too Dyson, but not in the way you want me to, at least not anymore. If there's one thing that I've learned as of late, it's that life is too short. Someone once told me to fight for what makes me happy and that's what I'm going to do. I still want you in my life Dy but as my friend. I can't go down that road with you anymore. I can forgive you for what you did, but I can't trust you enough with my heart to try again. I need you to understand that."

For a long while we sit there in silence. I hadn't touched my beer and half of the ice in Dyson's whiskey had already melted away.

"Okay." He finally lets out. For someone who hated one-worded answers, he sure didn't hate it now.

"Just…okay?" I ask again.

Giving me a small smile, he simply nods.

"I'm not exactly thrilled by your answer Bo, but that's all I can give you right now. If this is what you want, I'll respect it. I wish I knew what it was like to be treated like that, but I don't. That's why I'm letting you go. I also value what's left of our friendship too much to start something that could potentially ruin it."

Now it's my turn to sit there in silence, the only difference is, I'm a little shocked. I was expecting to drag Dyson out of the Dal kicking and screaming, but this…this I wasn't expecting. As shocked as I am, I also feel lighter now. Although it saddens me, I knew that this talk was long over due. Had we had this talk before Taft's return, I would've readily said yes without a doubt. But now, I realized that I just didn't feel the same way anymore.

_Maybe that's because it has something to do with a certain blonde that's still at the hospital being kept company by your best friend. _

Whipping out my phone, I quickly to check for any missed calls or messages. There's only one message and it's from Kenzi

Kenzi: _Still w8ting. Bring burger n' chips on ur way here. Thnx. Luv ya."_

Me: _U eat 2 much. Cyu soon. _

"I have to go. Kenz wants burger and chips."

"Where does she keep it all? Shit." Laughing we both stand to make our way out. But before I can get any further, Dyson's words stop me.

"It's her isn't it? Lauren?"

Instead of replying, I simply keep walking.

_I sure hope so…if she'll still have me. _


	11. Chapter 11: Fleeting moment

**A/N: **Hello, hello, hello! I'm sorry guys, I know I haven't been posting as frequently as I would've hoped BUT, better late than never right? Anyways thank you all for being so patient! Thank you for all the reviews and I'm gong to be apologizing for the length of this chapter. I know it's a tad short but you'll get why. I'm also hoping to get the next chapter up as soon as possible so that y'all won't have to wait too long for it.

On another note, I know I started a new story, but don't worry, I'm not forgetting about this one :). I will, however, be alternating between the two stories so look out for the next chapter to Hearts Can Heal coming up later on if y'all are reading that also.

Anyway, go forth and enjoy!

P.S. I really can't help but feel like this chapter is kinda…cheesy? Lol. Idk. Whatever…gah.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Let's make this fleeting moment last forever.**

Arriving at the hospital, Kenzi is the only one in the waiting room. Spotting me, she runs up to me, snatching her burger and chips from my hand.

"Oh thank GAWD! What took you so long? Come to mama. I swear my stomach's eating itself. Om nom. Sup D-Man." Without so much as a thank you and dragging Dyson with her, they move over to one of the empty seats in the waiting room.

"Ah…you're welcome."

Looking around again, I don't see Lauren anywhere.

"Kenz? Where's Lauren?"

"Uhmm…Yah, Fhe's wif da docders…"

Cringing at the excessive amounts of food in her mouth, I sigh, rolling my eyes at her and walk over to sit next to her. I love Kenzi but sometimes the girl just has no table manners.

"Kenzi, how many times have I told you? First you chew. Then swallow."

She simply nods and waves me off unceremoniously as she continues to take huge bites out of her burger. After about five minutes of watching Kenzi eat, we hear approaching footsteps and hushed voices followed by a 'Thank you Doctor'. When Lauren rounds the corner, I stand up quickly and make my way over to her.

"Hey," I say smiling warmly at her. "Any new developments?"

"Well, the good news is that he's in a stable condition…for now anyway. He lost a lot of blood. The doctor says if we'd gotten here five minutes later, he wouldn't have made it. Not too sure when he'll wake up though. They've taken him to the ICU. They'll be monitoring him closely for the next couple of days."

As I stand there listening and watching Lauren, I can see just how exhausted she looks. Her shoulders were slightly slumped, her hair was a little frizzled from the days events and you could clearly make out the dark circles under her eyes. Amongst all the craziness with Taft, helping me with my issues and now her brother, she couldn't have had more than five hours of sleep in the last 48 hours.

"Well, that _**is **_good news right?"

Reaching out, I take her hand in mine and give it a comforting squeeze.

"Lauren?"

Startled, I pull my hand away and turn to face whomever it is the voice belongs to.

"Mom? Hey…"

I watch as Lauren makes her way over to her Mom, giving her a quick and brief embrace and kiss on the cheek. Like me, Kenzi and Dyson just watch the scene in front of us, shock evident on all our faces.

Studying Lauren's Mom, there is no doubt who she is. Although a brunette, you could clearly see both Mike and Lauren in her facial features. She stood about the same height as Lauren and was dressed in a grey pencil skirt suit that looked tailored to fit like a glove and probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. Lauren hardly spoke of her Mom and when she did, she'd always change the subject as quickly as it was brought up.

"How was your drive?" I hear Lauren ask stiffly. After Lauren had pulled away from her mother, she stood rigid, her hands clenched at her sides.

"Where is he?" The older woman asks sternly, completely ignoring her daughter's question.

"He's in the ICU," Lauren replies.

"Right. I'll see you then."

Without so much as a goodbye, Lauren's Mom is off again.

'_The hell?'_

"What the hell was _**that**_?" Kenzi asks voicing my thoughts and breaking the tension in the room after Mrs. Lewis is out of earshot.

"Oh...that was my ever so caring mother. I left her a message while Mike and I were on the way here."

"Wow. She's a bitch…"

"KENZI!" I exclaim in shock.

"It's okay," Lauren says offering Kenzi and I a sad smile. "You were bound to meet her some day. Better sooner rather than later. God I need a coffee."

"No, you don't," I say moving closer to her. "What you need is sleep Lauren. You're exhausted. We'll visit Mike first thing in the morning. Let us take you home."

For a moment it looks like she's going to say 'No'.

"Okay," she manages finally in defeat.

"Great…and here," taking off my hoodie, I wrap it gently around her shoulders, careful not to bump into her wound. "It's cold out."

"But—"

"I'll be fine, now take it, I'm not taking no for an answer. Dy, drop us off at Lauren's?" I ask turning towards Kenzi and Dyson. He just simply nods and motions for the three of us to follow him.

* * *

When we finally arrive at Lauren's apartment complex, Kenzi's already passed out.

'_Guess the days adventures finally caught up with her.'_

I watch quietly as Lauren thanks Dyson and steps out of the car. Before I can turn around to wake Kenzi up, Dyson stops me.

"Go. I'll take Kenz home," he says smiling weakly at me. I feel slightly guilty again as the sad look in his eyes remind me of our exchange earlier. I can only nod and give him a simple 'Thank you'. Leaning into him, I give him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," he nods.

After waving goodbye, I quickly make my way up to Lauren's, wrapping my arms around myself to keep warm.

"Shit it's cold," I mumble to myself. I breathe a sigh of relief when I reach the inside of the apartment building, finding it warm.

Today has been one hell of a day to say to least. Every time we take a step forward, we take two steps back. This situation seems to be getting more and more out of control. First Taft and then Jason, Mike and now Lauren's mom. What happened between them? Why the brush off? After watching Lauren and her mother's exchange, I felt strangely glad that even though Aoife and I hardly saw eye to eye, it didn't feel as cold as the exchange between them.

When I arrive at her door, I contemplate knocking but then I remember Lauren saying that she'd leave the door unlocked for me. On the way over she tried to talk me out of staying the night, but I can play the stubborn game too. I didn't like the thought of Lauren being alone tonight. Not with everything that was going on right now.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath before reaching out to open the door slowly. Stepping inside and closing it quietly, my eyes find Lauren in the kitchen, her back to me. Slipping off the sneakers I'd borrowed, I make my way over to the kitchen. Folding my arms and leaning against the bench, I watch her for a while.

"Everything okay?" I ask, breaking the silence.

"That's a good question," she replies, giving me a short sarcastic laugh. "Ever since our Dad died, my Mom hasn't spoken to me since. Tonight was the most she's ever said in the last two and a half months."

Even though she still has her back to me, I nod; feeling like it's the appropriate thing to do.

"She blames me you know? I…I've been blaming myself and…" her voice breaks and trails off as she starts to sob quietly, her hands gripping the edge of the counter in front of her. Pushing myself away from the bench, I move up behind her, wrapping my arms loosely around her waist and pulling her body back gently against mine. Turning around in my arms, I pull her closer and let her cry on my shoulder as I whisper sweet nothings in her ear. After what feels like a good solid five minutes of crying, Lauren pulls back slightly to look at me. My heart stops.

Although her eyes are red and puffy from crying, I can't help thinking about how beautiful she is at that very moment. Bringing my hand up to her face, I brush away the few stray hairs that have come loose from her ponytail and tuck it behind her ear. With the other, I cup her face and wipe away her tears with my thumb.

"My god you're beautiful!" I blurt out, my eyes locked onto hers. Never have I ever wanted to kiss anyone as much as I want to kiss her now. With that in mind, I let go of all my inhibitions and I do just that: I kiss her. When our lips meet, it's not soft and tender; it's fierce and passionate and full of want and need. When Lauren's tongue brushes against my lips, I let out a loud moan and welcome her. To be fair, if it hadn't been for the counter behind Lauren, my knees would've given way.

When we finally break apart for some much needed air, I touch my forehead gently to hers. Her eyes are still closed as she runs her tongue across her upper lip. Her lips have become red and swollen. When she opens her eyes, they've darkened and I can see my own desire reflected back at me.

'_Wow!'_

"Hey…" she whispers, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Hey yourself," I say smiling back at her. "That was…wow."

Taking a few moments to calm myself and slow my heart rate down, I give her another quick kiss on the lips. As much as I would love to take this further, I didn't want to given the state Lauren is in. I still needed to tell her about my conversation with Dyson, I owed her that much.

"You need to get some sleep hun," I say not believing the words that are coming out of my mouth. "I'll take the couch, just tell me where the blankets and extra pillows are and I'll set myself up for the night."

"No," she says shaking her head. "Sleep with me."

"Ah, Laur, I don't know if that's such a gr—"

"Just sleep, Bo. I…I don't want to sleep alone. Not tonight." She says again, her voice small and fragile. "Please?"

Feeling like an idiot, I chuckle and kick myself inwardly.

"Of course. Lead the way."

Taking me by the hand, she pulls me upstairs in the direction of her room. Switching on the light, she gestures for me to sit down on the bed while she looks for some spare clothes for me to wear. After laying out a pair of pink silk sleeping shorts and a white tank top for me, she makes her way into the bathroom to take a shower. When she emerges from the bathroom, she's wrapped only in just a towel. The steam from the shower follows her through the door as she makes her way over to her drawers. So do my eyes. Her skin is still wet and her hair dripping as it falls around her shoulders.

"There's a spare towel for you in there, just leave the sweat pants and hoodie in the laundry basket when you're done." At the sound of her voice I snap my eyes back up to her face. She wears a knowing smile as she catches me staring. I can't help the blush that makes its way rapidly to my cheeks. Standing up quickly and grabbing the change of clothes, I make a quick dash to the bathroom, closing the door behind me and leaning my back against the door. I smile and bring my hand up to touch my lips, remembering that just not long ago Lauren's lips were pressed against mine.

'_Oh god. I'm in trouble.' _I think to myself before stripping down and turning on the shower. Stepping inside, I welcome the hot steady stream of water that pours down from the showerhead, closing my eyes and just basking in the memory of what happened earlier in the kitchen. I know, deep down, that I'm falling fast and I know I can't stop it.

'_I don't want to stop it.'_

No one has ever ignited a raging inferno inside me the way Lauren has. I could still feel my lips tingling from the kiss. Right from the beginning every touch left an impression on my skin. Every look burned right through me and as much as I may try to deny it, just the sound of her voice is enough to make me weak in the knees.

After another solid 15 minutes, I hop out of the shower, feeling a little better. Walking up to the mirror, I wipe away the condensation. My skin has turned bright pink from the hot water. Looking at myself in the mirror I don't recognize myself anymore. Physically I'm still the same even with the dark circles under my eyes but there was something different about me and I couldn't put my finger on it. Sighing, I dry myself off and get ready for bed.

'_Bed…where I'll be sleeping. With Lauren.'_

Drying my hair the best I can, I toss the towel into Lauren's laundry basket and exit the bathroom. The scene that greets me stops me dead in my tracks. Under the dim lighting of the beside lamp, Lauren's sleeping form is illuminated in a soft yellow glow. Closing the door gently behind me, I walk over to the other side of the bed, being careful not to disturb her; I slide myself carefully under the covers. Propping myself up on my elbow, I watch her, her chest rising and falling steadily as she sleeps.

'_What have you done to me?'_

Leaning in, I gently brush my lips against her temple before lying down on my back and pulling the covers up to my chest. Placing my hands atop the comforter, I stare up at the ceiling. Out of everything that transpired and went wrong today, the only other thing I just couldn't stop thinking about was Lauren's Mom. What was she blaming Lauren for? From what I've gathered, Lauren and Mike moved to get away from what happened back home, for a fresh start. I always assumed that they moved because of Mike but from what I saw, it's so much more than that. Whatever it is, Mrs. Lewis' problem seems to be with Lauren.

* * *

"_Watch me Bo. I want you to watch me as I slowly start to pierce her skin. I want you to watch the colour drain from your lovers face as I slit her throat. I want you to see the blood pour out and colour her skin. Oh this is such a treat." _

"_GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!" Again I struggle at the restraints. Nothing. My wrists have become raw, the zip ties already cutting through my skin. _

"_This is so wonderful. What do you think Jason?"_

_I look over to my left to find Jason walking out of the shadows, a sinister grin plastered on his face. Again I struggle, desperate to break free so I can wipe that fucking smile off his face. _

"_The whore deserves it sir. She deserves this. All of it!" _

"_FUCK YOU, YOU SICK FUCK!" I scream._

_Walking over quickly to me, the back of Jason's hand connects with the right side of my cheek. My cheek is numb from the contact. Slowly the taste of copper starts to fill my senses. Spitting out the blood, I bring my head forward again to be greeted by Jason's face only inches from mine. _

"_You have quite the mouth on you slut! You should learn some respect."_

"_Respect this asshole," I say through gritted teeth before head butting him right on the nose. The force knocks him backwards as his hand automatically moves up to his now bleeding, hopefully broken, nose. _

"_You bitch!" He hisses at me before lunging forward ready to strike me again. _

"_JASON!" Taft yells stopping Jason just as his fist is about to collide with my jaw. "I want her pretty! If you do anymore damage to her face, I'll kill you myself!" _

"_How you like them apples now, bitch?" I retort giving Jason a satisfied grin of my own as he begrudgingly backs away from me._

"_Bo…" My head snaps up in the direction of Lauren's voice. It sounds faint and weak. _

"_Oh good, you're awake my dear." Making his way closer to her, Taft brings a hand up to brush Lauren's hair away from her face. My skin crawls and my blood boils at the sight of him touching her. _

"_You really are a gorgeous little thing aren't you? It's almost a shame to have to kill you."_

_I can only watch as Lauren's head lolls from side to side as she tries to gather her senses after waking up from the sedative. She's unable to move from the restraints on both her arms and legs. _

"_B-Bo..." she tries again. _

"_Lauren, Lauren I'm here sweetie! We'll get through this." I cry out, as hot angry tears start to fall. "I won't let you get away with this Taft! Let her go!" I scream at him struggling at my restraints again. I watch him as he starts putting on surgical gloves. Grabbing a craft knife from his table, he touches the tip of the blade with his finger. Grinning at me, he brings the blade up to Lauren, trailing the tip gently across her neck. _

"_So beautiful," he says aloud, his eyes still locked on mine. A painful gasp escapes from Lauren's lips as Taft uses his other hand to yank her head up by her hair. _

"_Look at her!" Taft hisses at Lauren. "Open your eyes and look at her!"_

_Slowly, Lauren's eyes start to open, her eyes immediately locking with mine. All I can do is watch her through tear stained eyes. _

"_I-I'm sorry Lauren," I manage to choke out through my tears. "I'm so, so sorry."_

"_How romantic," Taft cuts in, yanking at Lauren's hair again. "Now say goodbye to your lover Detective." I watch helplessly as Taft brings the blade back up against Lauren's neck again. With her eyes still locked on mine, she gives me a smile and slowly starts to close her eyes. _

"_Goodnight Lauren," Taft says one final time and in one quick swipe, the blade cuts through her skin without fuss. _

"**LAUREN!" **I cry out, bolting upright in the bed, breathing heavily.

"Bo? Bo, honey…I'm here."

Turning to my left, I find Lauren right there next to me. Bringing her hands up to my face she brushes away the hair stuck to my sweaty forehead before taking hold of my face and searching my eyes, concern written all over her face. Her thumbs brush away the tears that I didn't realize were there.

"Bo, look at me. I'm right here," she whispers. Grabbing one of my hands, she brings it up to her face, laying it gently against her own cheek. "See, I'm right here love."

"L-Lauren?" I manage to choke out. "Y-you're okay?" I ask again, shock still evident in my voice.

"I'm fine, see? Nothings wrong," She says giving my hand a gently squeeze.

"I-I thought…"

"Shh…" she says letting go of me and moving backwards to lean up against the headboard.

"C'mere." Patting the spot in front of her, she gestures for me to settle in between her legs. Crawling over to her, I do just as she says. Just as my body settles up against her with my back to her, her arms gently wrap themselves around me. Melting into her arms, I lean my head back onto her shoulder and close my eyes. For a while we just sit there in silence. Enjoying just how right it feels and how perfectly we seem to fit.

"He had you…" I say breaking the silence. She doesn't say anything but I can feel her nod her understanding.

"I was in the place I was in when he had me the first time. I was tied up. Both Taft and Jason were there. Then there was you…" my voice trails off into the darkness as I recall the dream to her. "You were tied up on the bed. I couldn't help you Laur. I couldn't…move. I tried to struggle. I screamed but I just couldn't seem to break free. I just…I could only watch him Lauren. I could only watch…the blade…your neck. I…" I couldn't continue then. The image of Lauren's throat being slit open was permanently burned into my memory.

"Bo, hun, you're shaking. It was just a nightmare," with her hands, she gently rubs my bare arms trying to soothe the shaking that even_** I**_ didn't realize I was doing.

"But…it was so real Laur." Sitting up slightly, I turn around to face her. "Taft got you Lauren and I couldn't _**do**_ anything. What's going to happen if—"

"Now you stop _**right**_ there. I'm not going anywhere Bo. Nothing is going to happen. We're going to get the son of the bitch! We're going to get him for you, for your Mom and for Mike. I want to see the bastard rot in jail."

Her voice is determined and her eyes are fierce. I know, that no matter what, she too isn't going to stop at anything until Taft is behind bars again. I can only nod and settle back into her again. Taking her hands in mine, I place them gently on my stomach, running my thumb across the backs of her hands.

"Speaking of mothers…" I start. Immediately I feel her body stiffen under me.

"What about them?" She asks reluctantly.

"What was that…with your Mom?" I ask cautiously.

"Nothing…"

"Bullshit and you know it. That was no 'nothing' about what I saw Lauren."

"You're too inquisitive for your own good, you know that?"

"And you're changing the subject. We're not talking about me Laur, what happened?"

Sighing, she turns her head to look at me.

"It's going to be a long story."

Looking around the room, I spot a clock on the opposite wall. It read 4:05 a.m. When my eyes meet hers again, she's watching me with wary eyes.

"From what I can see, neither of us are going to be getting anymore sleep, so for now…I have all the time in the world."


	12. Chapter 12: We all learn to make

**A/N:** I swear all your amazing reviews just give me the motivation to keep writing, so THANK YOU. This chapter was really difficult to write because I had so many ideas about how Lauren's fallout with her mother would go. I finally settled on something that worked for me and hopefully for you too. I'm also going to apologize in advance at how short this chapter is going to be. I did want to make it super long but I just haven't had time and I wanted to get this chapter out before I go MIA. I'll be going on a last minute trip overseas this week and I'm also in the middle of moving houses so unless I get me a portable WiFi modem within the next couple of weeks, I'm not so sure when the next update will be. But I promise that the next update will be super outrageously long!

Hope you all enjoy and thanks again for the amazing reviews and the feedback. I love reading them!

P.S: Due to my rush to get this chapter out, it's possible that there are more than a few mistakes in this chapter so I apologize for that too.

* * *

**Chapter 12: We all learn to make mistakes.**

Lauren had been home for semester break and was out one night with a few friends. A few drinks turned into shots and soon Lauren was at the point of no return. With no money left to pay for a cab, she called her Dad. It was almost two in the morning and Lauren had no other choice. One of her friends had already passed out on the pavement.

Little did Lauren know, things took a turn for the worst that night. When her Dad had stopped at a red light, witnesses told the police that three masked figures ran up to his car, breaking the driver side widow, shot him point blank. The guy that shot him threw open the door and pulled him out of the car as the other three jumped in. They drove off that night with a hefty helping of 25 million dollars from the bank. Mr. Lewis had died instantly. The cops had called her mother and Lauren received the news of her father's shooting via Mike.

"Since then, my Mother hasn't spoken a word to me. She blames me for my father's death," Lauren says sighing heavily. I'm quiet throughout the entire exchange.

"Mike had to come and get me. My Mom couldn't even stand to look at me when I arrived home that night. I...I don't blame her. If it hadn't b-been for me, he would still be…" Lauren's voice trails off as a small quiet sob escapes her lips. Sitting up on my knees and turning around to face her, I cradle her face gently in my hands and press my lips to hers. When I pull away, her eyes are still closed and a few tears have fallen down her cheeks.

"Lauren, look at me," I whisper wiping away the tears. "Lauren, please look at me," I repeat again when she doesn't open her eyes immediately. The pain, the loss and the sadness I see in them when she opens them tugs painfully at my heart.

"Honey, what happened that night wasn't your fault! It could have happened to anyone. I absolutely can't imagine the pain you went through…still are going through. You can't blame yourself for something that you had no control over!"

"But Bo, I _**DID**_ have control over it! It could have been avoided if I had just stayed home like my Mom had asked me to in the first place. The only reason I was able to go that night was because he…he l-let me…It's _**my **_fault that my Dad's dead and she has every fucking right to hate me!"

"Don't _**say**_ that!" I whisper back fiercely. "Don't you _**dare **_say that! Your Dad was in the wrong place at the wrong time. You can't have known that these assholes were out there that night Lauren," swallowing the lump in my throat I force myself to continue.

"She doesn't hate you Lauren. No matter how much pain she's still feeling about what happened, she doesn't hate you. She lost the love of her life that night, but you are her daughter. You're her flesh and blood. I know that if something were to happen to you, she would be the first one by your side come hell or high water."

"Which is why my brother can't die, Bo. I don't think I could handle it if she has something else to blame me for. I c-can't. I j-just can't…"

Pulling her into a tight hug, I let her cry it out again. Not being able to help myself, I too can't hold it in any longer. For a long while we sit there wrapped in each other's embrace, crying until there are no more tears to be shed. As if on cue, my stomach gives a loud growl, causing both Lauren and I to let go off each other as we burst out into a fit of laughter.

"OH, my god!" I say wiping the tears from my eyes and moving over to the other side of the bed again.

"Come on," Lauren says, once her own laughing fit subsides. I watch her as she gets up out of bed. My eyes follow her as she makes her way over to her wardrobe, opening the doors; she puts on a robe before turning to face me.

"I'll make us some breakfast."

Smiling at her, I get up out of the bed and make my way over to where she's standing, stopping in front of her. Wrapping my arms loosely around her waist, I pull her closer to me.

"Feeling better?" I ask, my eyes searching hers. Wrapping her own arms loosely around my neck she pulls me forward for a chaste kiss on the lips before giving me a small nod and smiling.

"Much. Thank you."

"Mmm…I could get used to this," I whisper. To my horror, my stomach gives another loud growl, causing my cheeks to heat up with embarrassment again.

"Come on, we better put get some food in that thing before the entire apartment complex hears it." Lauren jokes giving my stomach a gentle poke.

* * *

"So did they ever find the guys who did it?" I ask Lauren as she finishes piling pancakes on a plate topping it off with fresh fruit and some bacon on the side.

"Oh god, that looks amazing," I gush. My mouth is literally salivating at the site in front of me.

"No," Lauren replies handing me my plate of pancakes. "I spent almost nine months trying to figure out who they were but I came up empty handed every time. I've poured over the evidence countless times, I've spent late and sleepless nights trying to solve it but I've hardly gotten anywhere. I stopped once my boss saw the that it was starting to affect my work."

"So is that why you joined the force?"

"I would be lying if I said no, but yes. It was my intention at first. To help try and solve my father's murder, but then I found out I was good at my job and I loved it so, now, here I am."

"Well…I'm glad you stuck with it," I reply before popping a strawberry into my mouth. "By the way, can I just say that this is _**amazing**_? I can happily say that my little cave monster is now satisfied."

"What can I say? I live to satisfy others," Lauren replies winking at me.

"Oh? Really now?"

'_Two can play this game.'_

"I might just have to test out just how true that really is some time," I continue giving her a cheeky grin. Getting up off of my seat, I make my way around the kitchen island to where Lauren is standing and pull her to me. "Just so you know, it takes a lot more than just a few pancakes to really satisfy me."

"Oh honey, you'll find out just how truly_** satisfying**_ I can be when you finally decide to test that out. The question is, can you handle just how _**true**_ it will be?"

"Oh I think I can handle just fine," I fire back and absolutely loving the playful twinkle I can see in her eyes. Leaning forward, I kiss her. Unlike last night, it's gentle and slow. Taking our time to explore each other. I moan aloud when my tongue slips past her lips to fully taste her. The taste of strawberries and maple syrup fill my senses.

As our kisses start to deepen and become more passionate, I break the kiss and start to trail hot wet kisses down Lauren's neck. Our breathing has become heavy as I continue to nip and run my tongue along the length of her neck. When she lets out a moan of her own I just about cum on the spot. Just as my hand starts to trail up the side of her body, the sound of a knock on the door causes us stop what we're doing.

'_Fuck! Really?'_

"J-just a second," Lauren yells out trying to steady her breathing. Reluctantly we back away from each other, straightening our clothes before I make my way to my half-eaten pancakes while Lauren answers the door.

'_Whoever that is better have a fucking good excuse for interrupting right now,' _I think to myself stabbing my pancakes and cutting off a piece.

"Mom!"

My head snaps up as my eyes watch Lauren stiffen at the door. I sit there with my mouth slightly open as Mrs. Lewis brushes past Lauren to make her way inside.

"Oh," she says when her eyes land on me. "I didn't realize you had company."

"I ah…that's Bo, my new partner."

"Pleasure," Mrs. Lewis replies uninterestedly, turning back around to face her daughter. "I'll be quick. I'm going to be here for the next two weeks to look after Michael so you can go back to work, no point in you stopping that. I'll be staying over at the Redman's Hotel."

"You know you're always welcome here," Lauren says meekly.

"No. I already paid my two weeks and I don't want to cancel. That's all from me," like last night at the hospital and so much as a goodbye, Mrs. Lewis makes her way hastily out the door. Before she's completely out the door, she turns around again.

"Michael's awake by the way, I'm going to my hotel room to get a few things sorted out at work and have a shower. You can visit him if you wish," and with that, she's gone. Closing the door again, Lauren leans her back against the door.

'_Kenz was right, she is a bitch.'_

"In other words, visit him when she's not there," Lauren says to me.

"Hard cookie she is," I say trying to lighten the mood. Straightening from the door, Lauren walks back into the kitchen.

"You have no idea," she replies starting to pack away the dirty dishes. "I'll have a shower and then we can go over to yours so you can shower and get a change of clothes before we head over to see Mike. Your leather pants must be missing you."

"Oh hush you! You know you love my leather pants," I retort winking at her.

"That I do," she answers playfully giving me a cheeky little wink of her own.

* * *

When Lauren and I arrived at the Crack shack, Kenzi is surprisingly awake. She is sitting at her laptop watching something intently. When she spots us she motions for us to come over.

"Come look at this," she says excitement evident in her voice. "I was going through the footage again and I noticed something." Pointing at the screen.

"Vernon's…Point…fisheries," I read out loud, barely able to make out the words on the screen. "Is that supposed to mean anything?" I ask Kenzi giving her a confused look.

"Yeah. I had a cousin of mine who called a friend of a friend's and they said that Vernon's Point fishery is the name of a dock down town. She told me that it's not very well known but the only way people get in and out of there are if they're employees or delivery trucks. Apparently they're supposed to specialize in the importing and exporting of rare exotic seafood. What you're looking at right now is the side of the truck Jason got into! I think that wherever they're keeping your mom, it's somewhere there!"

"Kenzi, did I ever tell you how much I love you?!" I exclaim, swooping in to plant a kiss on the side of her head.

"Not enough times Bo-dacious," she replies.

"Anyway, we came here for me to have a shower and get dressed. Lauren and I are going to visit Mike in the hospital. You wanna come?"

"Hells to the bells yes!" She replies sitting up straight in her chair.

"Great, now you two make nice while I go have my shower. Oh and Kenzi, if you could get an address, I'll make you breakfast for the next month."

"Already have it and its two months thanks."

Looking over at Lauren, I mouth 'Help me'. Laughing at me she shakes her head and holds her hands up letting me know I'm in this all by myself.

"Traitor," I say grinning at her.

"So Lauren how's Mama Lewis?" Kenzi asks turning around in her computer chair to face the blonde.

"She came in this morning actually. It was her that told us about Mike."

"You guys weren't bumping naked bits were you? Cos' that woulda been all kinds of awkward!"

"Kenzi!" I let out in horror. "You are so not funny! Another remark like that and I'll reduce your two month breakfast allowance to just one."

"Just testing," she says swiveling around to face her laptop screen again. "Come on Hotpants, I'll show you how to hack into the CIA."

"Kenz," I hiss at her, giving her a dirty look.

"Kidding, kidding, I'm just going to show her the footage. Neither of you have seen it yet so hurry up and go wash yo' ass."

"Fuck you."

"You wish honey."

* * *

About an hour later, the three of us arrive at the hospital to find Mike sitting up in his bed flicking through channels. Mike is definitely looking more alive than what he was last night. I couldn't help the feeling of relief that washes over me as I watch him alive and breathing.

"Hey hero!" Kenzi greets him, making her way over to sit at the foot of the bed.

"Thank god you guys are here. Was getting a little bored."

"We noticed," I say smiling at him and taking a seat nearest to the door while Lauren took the one by her brother.

"How you feeling?" Lauren asks.

"Like I've been run over by a truck but it's not so bad I guess…" he answers shrugging his shoulders, immediately wincing at the action. "Okay…ow."

"Look Laur…I'm sorry I was stupid enough t—" Mike starts but Lauren holds up a hand to stop him.

"The important thing is, you're alive."

For a good five minutes the four of us just sit there in silence. The ticking sound from the wall clock the only thing we hear.

"I take it Mom came to see you?" Mike asks breaking the silence. Lauren just nods at him.

"She'll come around you know?"

"Sure she will." Lauren replies with a sense of finality in her voice. Mike stops pushing and just returns to flicking through channels again.

"So any news about Jason?" He asks looking over in my direction.

"He's in lock up at the moment. Lauren and I will be heading over to his apartment a little later to check things out. Kenz found something useful in the security footage that we took."

"Nerd alert!" Mike fires at Kenzi who sticks out her tongue and gives him the finger. "Anyway, how come you guys have to leave so early anyway? I'm injured here!"

Neither Lauren nor I say anything.

"Your mom." Kenzi answers for us.

"Oh…"

"Speaking of Jason, how _**did**_ the interrogation go with him last night?" Lauren chimes in, quickly changing the subject, turning in her seat to face me.

"Oh…he ah, he won't say anything unless either of us are present. Truthfully if it hadn't been for Dyson, he'd probably be in a coma right now." I reply remembering how I lost my temper and almost strangled the kid to death.

'_Had that really been just a few hours ago?'_

"Then we'll talk to him. This is the first break we've had since this case started and to be honest, I'd like to see how Detective Dennis instills fear within her victims," she finishes with a grin and a twinkle in her eye.

'_God, I love playful flirty Lauren…wait…Love? Could I really be __**in**__ love with Lauren?"_

"I like to lure my victims seductive into my web," I reply snapping out of my thoughts.

"Oh get a room already," I hear from Kenzi as she proceeds to make gagging noises. Grabbing the small pillow next to Lauren, I throw it at Kenzi. Everyone in the rooms bursts out laughing as the pillow hits her right on the side of the head.

"You bitch!" Kenzi screams as she too starts to join in the merriment. For the first time since things started going wrong, I couldn't help but feel like things were slowly falling into place. Today had started off good, aside from Lauren's mom, but it was a good start.

Michael was awake and acting like he hadn't been shot not long ago. Jason was in custody, away from Taft, with his apartment at our disposal. Kenzi had managed to find something else that was useful from the footage we got. Dyson and I were able to sort things out and now things with Lauren were slowly starting to progress. For the moment I would enjoy the light atmosphere because I didn't know exactly what the next few hours of the day would bring.

The sound of my phone ringing brings a stop to the laughter in the room. Checking the screen, I see Trick's name appear.

"Dennis," I answer curtly.

"Dennis, I need you and Lewis to Mumford Park now. Another body has been found."

"It's not Aoife is it?!" I demand into the phone.

"What? No! But Taft's message is clear. He's not too happy that his right hand man is behind bars. Now get to the park now! Thornwood and Santiago are on their way there now too."

Ending the call I place my phone back into my pocket.

"Bo?" Lauren asks concern crossing her features. "Everything okay?"

"We have to go. They've found another body."


End file.
